


Nothing's Gonna Stop Me But Divine Intervention

by kikikryslee



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Anal Sex, Blow Jobs, Bottom Harry, Coffee, Fluff, Happy Ending, Jealous Louis, London, M/M, Morning Sex, Oblivious Harry, Oblivious Louis, Pining, Smut, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates, Soulmates Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson, Strangers to Lovers, Top Louis, get used to that word. i used it a lot, harry and lottie are best friends, let's be real it's also
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-21
Updated: 2015-12-21
Packaged: 2018-05-06 06:52:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 19,622
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5407169
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kikikryslee/pseuds/kikikryslee
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“So… what’s next on the soul mate search?” Louis asked.<br/>“I don’t know,” Harry answered. “Whatever I’m doing isn’t working. I’m not finding him anywhere.”<br/>“He’ll get here. I know it."<br/>“Yeah. I know he’s out there somewhere; I just have to figure out where.”<br/>---<br/>Or, the soul mate AU where Harry overthinks everything having to do with finding the love of his life, and Louis doesn't think there's a Mr. Right for him at all. It takes them a while to realize that their soul mate is the person they want it to be: each other.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Nothing's Gonna Stop Me But Divine Intervention

**Author's Note:**

  * For [harrieandlewie](https://archiveofourown.org/users/harrieandlewie/gifts).



> This was my first time writing a soul mate AU, so I hope I did it justice.  
> I'm American, but this story takes place entirely in London. I did have a beta/britpicker, [ Ellie](http://pillowtalksbyzayn.tumblr.com/), who did such a good job! But if you spot any mistakes/inconsistencies we missed, let me know! 
> 
> The original prompt was: Soulmate AU in which people are born with a single word tattooed on their body and it could be their first word said but it could also be like "rain" if they met while it is raining or "music" in which the first instance of meeting is to tell them to turn the volume of their music down. Harry doesn't know what to think of the word "coffee" being his word until runs into (literally) a gorgeous boy with pretty blue eyes who accidentally spills his coffee onto his new jumper. Louis' word is "jumper" and he's confused because "doesn't everybody own a jumper" and lets just say that Harry is able to pick up on it faster than Louis is.
> 
> And I was pretty much exact with the prompt! Hope you enjoy it!
> 
> The title is a line from Jason Mraz's "I'm Yours."
> 
>  
> 
> **DO NOT post this story or any of my other stories on any other websites. I'm not comfortable with that, and I hope that you can please respect that. If you see any of my stories on another website, please let me know. I am also NOT currently authorizing translations of any of my stories at this time. I hope you can respect that, as well. Thank you!**

“Harry!”

“Sophia!”

As Harry walked into his regular coffee place, A Latte on My Mind, he got the familiar greeting from his favourite barista, Sophia.

She was also his flatmate’s girlfriend, but that wasn’t the important thing here.

What truly mattered was that Sophia was about to give him his energy for the next few hours.

“Let me guess. A latte?” Sophia asked jokingly, as if Harry didn’t get the exact same thing every morning, Monday to Friday, at the exact same time: 6:45 a.m.

“Close.”

“Oh, you’re right. Large coffee, black.”

“That’s more like it.”

Harry pulled his wallet out of his pocket and pulled out the money for the coffee.

He had exact change. Imagine that.

“Here you go,” Sophia said, handing over Harry’s cup with a smile. “Now get going. You have important work to do.”

Harry raised an eyebrow at Sophia as he paid.

“If, by important work, you mean selling the hottest styles that H&M has to offer in the most fashionable way, then you, my friend, would be correct.”

“That’s exactly what I meant. I’m glad I can be correct.”

Harry smiled. “Have a good day, Soph.”

“See you tomorrow, Harry.”

Before he left, he took a look around the place.

It was a small shop. If you walked too quickly on the street, you would walk right by it without even noticing it was there. The inside was warm and inviting, with walls the colour of, well, coffee, and light brown hardwood floors. There were about twelve red, cream and brown tables scattered throughout the place, each with two or four chairs. There were several chalkboards behind the counter with daily specials and everyday menu items neatly written on them.

Harry came here every day he had to work, and most days when he didn’t. It was familiar for him.

He also came in every day with the hope that he would see somebody different in the shop. But that never happened. He saw the same early morning crowd every Monday through Friday, and similarly early risers on the weekends.

There was never someone new; never someone that could be his soul mate.

He took a long sip of his coffee before walking out into the crisp, November air. He wrinkled his nose up at the taste, but swallowed it anyway, knowing he would need it to wake himself up.

See, the only way to describe Harry Styles’ relationship with coffee was ‘hate-love.’ It wasn’t ‘love-hate’ because Harry in no way loved coffee.

In short, Harry hated coffee.

He hated how it smelled; he hated how it tasted; he hated how the first sip of it always burned his tongue. He hated how expensive it was to buy it every morning before work, but also hated the taste of the instant coffee he had at home for weekends, and also in case of emergencies. He hated that he relied on it so much to get to work on time and stay awake in the morning.

Most of all, Harry hated that ‘coffee’ was his word, and that it was his only clue in finding his true love.

Everyone had a word: one simple hint at how they would find their soul mate; and Harry’s was coffee.

He had been born with it, and ever since he was little, he had dreamed of meeting the love of his life over a cup and living happily ever after.

Until he was a teenager, when he actually tried coffee for the first time and realised that he hated it. For a few years, he avoided the drink entirely, hoping instead that his soul mate would offer him coffee, Harry would turn it down and that would be how they started talking.

He held on to that dream for a while, until he graduated from the London Fashion Institute with a degree in Visual Merchandising and Branding.

A few months later, he got a job as a Visual Merchandiser, which was great, and allowed him to actually use his degree. However, he had to be at work at 7 a.m. And Harry was  _not_ a morning person. So, he sucked it up and started drinking coffee.

That had been three years ago, and unfortunately, still no soul mate.

He walked a few blocks before turning right, coming up to the side of his destination: H&M on Oxford Street.

He pulled out his key and turned the corner to see Zayn sitting outside of the front door.

“You’re late,” Zayn commented as he stood up.

“Sorry. Zoned out for a bit at Latte.”

“I see that.”

Harry unlocked the door and let the two of them in before locking it back up again. Zayn turned on the lights they would need and went to the back to put his stuff away.

Harry put his cup down at the register and looked over the displays in the store.  

Before they left on Friday, he and Zayn had gone over a list of tasks to get done this week, and as far as he remembered, there was a lot to do. But that was normal.

“OK, boss, what’s first?” Zayn asked as he came from the back. “I clocked you in, by the way.”

“Thank you. Well, I definitely want to change up the mannequins in the store entrance. Those sweater dresses have been out there for too long. Plus, we need more jeans, it looks like. They must’ve had a killing this weekend.”

“They had that £10.00 sale on Saturday, remember?”

“Shit, that’s right. The store room is probably a disaster, then.”

Harry ran a hand down his face. It was too early for this.

He took a long sip of his coffee, now that it was significantly less capable of burning his mouth off.

“We need to start figuring out the Valentine’s Day display,” Harry thought out loud, looking over toward the main display window.

It was currently Christmas themed, with a red and gold striped wallpaper background that had red glitter on the gold sections and gold glitter on the red sections. There were four mannequins in a party setting, with silver lights strung from the ceiling. In front, there was a sign that read, ‘Meet me under the mistletoe.’

“Is that glittery enough?”

“Harry, are you kidding? It’s definitely glittery enough. You spent two weeks coming up with that.”

“It’s better than Westfield’s, right? They had green and silver.  _We_ should’ve used green and silver.”

Zayn sighed. “We should  _not_ have used green and silver. We’re Gryffindor, not Slytherin…”

“I wonder what their Valentine’s display will have,” Harry continued without a proper segue. “You know Perrie always does a good job with that holiday.”

The Perrie that Harry was referring to was Zayn’s ex-girlfriend, also the VM at the Westfield store.

“Sorry,” Harry said, realising his mistake as Zayn’s face tensed up.

“It’s OK. But no, the display looks great. What’s up first for today?”

Harry took another sip before answering. “The jeans. The shelves are a disgrace, and that’ll probably take the longest, especially if we have to sift through boxes in the back to get the right sizes out.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

The two of them got to work. Harry shook out his long curls and pulled them back into a bun.

His hair was starting to get long again. He made a mental note to get it trimmed soon.

Just after 8:30, they heard the front door opening again.

Harry looked up to see Lottie walking in and locking the door behind her.

“Hey, Lotts,” he called out happily.

“Hi, H. You two keeping busy?”

“Absolutely.” They had finished the jeans display, and now Harry was looking through the H&M style guide to figure out what clothes would be best to put on the mannequins in the front. He was  _really_  tired of those damn sweater dresses.

Lottie turned on the registers and clocked in.

She counted the money inside of them, and the three of them worked in a comfortable silence.

They were used to this. They had formed a fast friendship in their time of working together.

The men had been a team for nearly two years, after Zayn moved to London from Bradford and transferred from the H&M store in Leeds.

Lottie had started working at the store about ten months ago. She had retail experience, but it was her outgoing personality, hard work and determination that had quickly advanced her up to management.

The firing of one of the store’s managers at the time helped speed the process along, as well.

Now Lottie was the one to open the shop, and got to work closely with Harry and Zayn, her two best friends at H&M by far.

“Harry!” Lottie yelled.

“Yeah?”

“Can you  _please_  throw your coffee cup in the bin in the back instead of in mine up here? Now any time I go to throw out something, I’m gonna get a whiff of your rank coffee.”

“OK.”

“You always say ‘OK,’ and you still do it. God, you’re worse than my brother.”

“Oh, yeah. I always forget you have a brother,” Harry said. “I’m sure he’s a delight.”

“Yeah, a real treasure,” Lottie mumbled. She spoke louder when she said, “Maybe you’ll meet him soon. He actually just moved here a couple of weeks ago.”

“Ooh, the infamous Tomlinson brother,” Zayn jumped in. “Finally, we can confirm his existence, since you never have.”

“What do you want from me? A full biography on my one older brother?”

“Is he cute?” Harry asked. “That’s all I care about, really.”

“Eww, you did not just ask me that about Louis.”

“Oh, he has a name!” Zayn said. “Harry, he’s totally your type.”

“Why would he be my type?”

“Because he has a French name.”

“So?”

“Look at what you’re wearing. It just screams ‘I love my French boyfriend.’”

Harry examined his outfit. It didn’t look like anything out of the usual for him. He had on black, skinny twill [trousers](http://lp2.hm.com/hmprod?set=source%5B/environment/2015/5VT_0344_006R.jpg%5D,width%5B3696%5D,height%5B4322%5D,x%5B689%5D,y%5B820%5D,type%5BFASHION_FRONT%5D&hmver=0&call=url%5Bfile:/product/main%5D), a black, spotted easy iron [shirt](http://lp2.hm.com/hmprod?set=source%5B/model/2015/B00%200249256%20035%2007%200716.jpg%5D,type%5BSTILLLIFE_FRONT%5D&hmver=5&call=url%5Bfile:/product/main%5D) and black, leather Chelsea [boots](http://lp2.hm.com/hmprod?set=source%5B/model/2015/C00%200331072%20001%2060%200687.jpg%5D,type%5BSTILLLIFE_FRONT%5D&hmver=2&call=url%5Bfile:/product/main%5D). All H&M, of course.

“It does not.”

“You’re right. For the full effect, you need to undo the first three buttons of your shirt.”

“And don’t forget the head scarf,” Lottie added, her eyes raking over his pulled back hair. “Maybe something with red in it.”

Zayn raised his eyebrows in agreement. “I like that.”

“You guys are annoying,” Harry said as he rolled his eyes. “I need more coffee to deal with this.”

“Perfect timing, then.”           

Lottie nodded toward the door, where their coworker, Kyle, was just walking up to the front entrance.

She walked over to unlock the door and let him in.

Kyle was nice; everyone liked him. But Kyle especially liked Harry, and the whole store knew it. Even customers picked up on it.

But, Kyle was too obvious about his little crush for Harry’s liking. Every day that Kyle opened the store, he would come in with another cup of coffee for Harry, since he knew how much of it Harry drank in the mornings.

It didn’t creep Harry out so much as it made him paranoid. He’d never told Kyle his word, no matter how much Kyle had prodded.

So, he didn’t know if Kyle somehow knew about it, and was just trying to butter Harry up enough to go out with him, or if Kyle actually was his soul mate. He’d never felt any kind of romantic interest in Kyle, but he supposed he could’ve just been overthinking it.

Lottie and Zayn swore up and down that Harry would eventually give in and go out with Kyle, and he would likely end up being his soul mate. But Harry wasn’t sure.

In the meantime, he would just enjoy his almost daily free cup of coffee from a cute boy.

“Hi, Kyle,” Harry greeted as the other man walked up to the register.

“Hi, Harry. I got you a coffee.”

“Kyle, you really don’t have to do this every day we work together,” Harry told him, taking the coffee from him anyway. “You know that, right?”

Kyle shrugged. “I know. I just like doing that for you.”

“Well, thank you. Again.”

“You’re welcome. I’m gonna put my stuff in the back.”

He walked away from them and Harry was left with his two best friends, who wouldn’t stop smirking at him.

“Shut up,” he said without even letting them speak.

“Harry and Kyle sitting in a tree,” Lottie sang quietly, “K-I-S-S-I-N-G.”

“I’ll throw my cup in your bin again,” Harry threatened.

“You’re such a prat.”

“At least he’s well-dressed,” Zayn said.

\---

After Harry clocked out for the day, he went home and quietly walked through the front door.

He didn’t know if his flatmate, Liam, would be awake or not.

Liam was a physical therapist at the fitness centre a few streets over. Usually, he would be out for most of the day, but if he had long breaks between clients, sometimes he would come home and take a nap.

It was just about four in the afternoon. Harry had actually managed to clock out on time for once, at 3:30, and come straight home.

He dropped down onto the couch and lay down on his side.

He was exhausted. He felt like he could fall asleep right there and not wake up until his alarm went off in the morning.

Just as his eyes started to fall shut, he heard Liam come out of his room.

He peeked one eye open to see his flatmate staring at him.

“You all right?” Liam asked.

“Solid. You’re bright today,” he said, referring to Liam’s grey running [jacket](http://lp2.hm.com/hmprod?set=source%5B/model/2015/B00%200179816%20034%2008%202480.jpg%5D,type%5BSTILLLIFE_FRONT%5D&hmver=4&call=url%5Bfile:/product/main%5D), neon green [top](http://lp2.hm.com/hmprod?set=source%5B/model/2015/B00%200280128%20007%2028%201317.jpg%5D,type%5BSTILLLIFE_FRONT%5D&hmver=2&call=url%5Bfile:/product/main%5D) and black sports [trousers](http://lp2.hm.com/hmprod?set=source%5B/model/2015/C00%200328480%20003%2061%201400.jpg%5D,type%5BSTILLLIFE_FRONT%5D&hmver=4&call=url%5Bfile:/product/main%5D).

“Thanks. They look familiar?”

Harry opened both eyes to look closer at Liam’s outfit. “Oh, yeah. Happy birthday to you.”

“Indeed. All right, I’ll be back.”

“Headed back to work?”

“Yeah, I have four more people to see. I should be back by 8:30, though.”

“I’ll save you dinner,” Harry promised.

“You’re the best.”

“I know. See you later.”

“Later.”

Liam grabbed his gym bag from where it had been dropped by the door.

After quickly checking to make sure he had everything, he walked out of the flat, locking the door behind him.

Harry returned his head to the cushion he’d been lying on.

He hadn’t meant to fall asleep; it just sort of happened.

He woke up a few hours later, feeling groggy and disoriented. He checked his phone to see that it was almost 7.

He rolled off the couch and went to his room, figuring he should make something for dinner. His stomach growled with every step he took.

He stripped down to his pants once he got into the room, and threw his work clothes in the hamper. He pulled out a pair of sweatpants and a T-shirt to wear instead.

As he put his arms in his sleeves, he glanced down at his chest, where the word ‘coffee’ was printed in a scribbly font on the left side of his chest.

He took a deep breath before pulling on his shirt.

Staring at his word wasn’t going to make his soul mate show up any faster.

\---

On Wednesday, Harry had to go to the H&M on Brompton Road instead of his usual store.

It happened every now and then. Sometimes, when other stores needed help with their displays due to being short staffed or overloaded with work, Harry or another VM would be called to go assist.

And Wednesday was Harry’s day to go, which also meant that Harry missed meeting Lottie’s brother.

“He was here?” Harry inquired of Zayn on Thursday morning.

“Yeah, you missed him,” Zayn answered, shaking his head. “He was pretty cool, too. Had all of us in stitches with his jokes. He’s a bit of a nutter, though.”

“Wouldn’t have expected that. Lottie’s pretty cool and collected.”

“I don’t know. I liked him enough, though. You probably will, too.”

“I’ll meet him eventually,” Harry shrugged.

It was a typical early Thursday morning, if ‘typical’ meant ‘disastrous.’

While trying to move some mannequins, Harry nearly dropped one on his foot. A minute later, Zayn actually dropped one on its head, cracking the skull part of it.

An hour later, Harry spilled his coffee all over the floor and had to mop it up. Then, before Harry could put up the ‘Wet Floor’ sign, Zayn stepped on the freshly mopped floor and fell over, but not before he could reach out, grab Harry’s shirt and pull him down, too.

They both hit the ground with a thud and the wind knocked out of them.

The two of them were lying there, staring at the ceiling, when Lottie came in at 8:30.

She walked up to them and didn’t bother to hide her judgment.

“Tough day?” she asked.

“A little bit,” Zayn replied. After examining her face, he said, “I could ask the same of you.”

“Yeah.” Lottie rolled her weary eyes. “My idiot brother went clubbing last night, and came to my flat instead of his. He claimed he couldn’t remember his new address, but he remembered mine, so he had the taxi bring him over. He was banging on the door at like, 4 a.m. Em had to get up and let him in.”

Em was Lottie’s flatmate. And Harry knew that she despised being woken up even more than he did.

“He better be out by the time I get home,” Lottie continued. “I’m so glad I’m only working until 2 today. I’ll probably pass out on the sales floor.”

“Poor baby,” Zayn said.

He extended a hand so Lottie could help him up.

She stared at his hand for a moment before asking, “Are you serious?”

Zayn rolled his eyes and got up by himself.

“Come on, H.” He reached a hand down and Harry took it.

Zayn pulled him to his feet, and they brushed themselves off.

“For once, I’m going to be thrilled to see Kyle,” Harry said as he fixed his hair.

“Why’s that?” Lottie wondered.

“He spilled his coffee everywhere,” Zayn answered. “Hence, the wet floor sign after he mopped it up.”

“Is that also why you guys were on the floor?”

“Yup.”

“Well, Harry, I have bad news for you, then.”

“What’s that?”

“Kyle called out this morning. Said he had some kind of stomach bug.”

“What?” Harry shrieked. “You’re kidding, right? Please tell me you’re kidding.”

“Not kidding.”

“I haven’t had a full cup of coffee yet, and there’s no promise for more? I’m not going to survive!”

“You’ll survive, Harry. Stop being dramatic,” Zayn scolded him.

“OK,” Harry said. He took a deep breath. “I’ll be fine. I don’t need another cup. I’ll be fine.”

By 10:30, Harry had a headache.

“Why are the damn lights so bright out there?” Harry asked Zayn as the two of them walked to the back.

“Damn, you’ve got it bad.”

“Got what bad?”

“Caffeine withdrawal. Harry, the lights aren’t any brighter than they usually are.”

“Yes, they are. My head hurts, Zayn. I’m sure it’s because of the lights.”

“That’s probably another sign,” Zayn noted.

“Shut up, Zayn.”

“ _And_  you’re irritable. Wow, you’re like a walking textbook example of caffeine withdrawal.”

“Shut  _up_.”

Harry walked away from Zayn and went upstairs to get the ladder.

By 11:00, Harry was sitting on that ladder in the middle of the store.

“Get up,” Lottie hissed. “Customers are starting to stare.”

Harry yawned. “Don’t care.”

“Is this really from missing your coffee? What’s wrong with you?”

“Caffeine withdrawal,” Zayn answered, walking by with an armful of cardigans to put out.

“I need to hang lights,” Harry said, although he made no move to actually get up to do it.

By 11:30, Zayn and Lottie were practically pushing him out of the store.

“I’ll clock you out for your break,” Zayn said.

“Don’t come back without an extra large coffee in your hands, and maybe a small one already in your system,” Lottie added.

With no choice in the matter, Harry started walking toward A Latte on My Mind.

As he walked, he put his hands in his pockets. With nothing to keep them warm, they were starting to shake from how cold it was outside.

That also could’ve been due to the lack of caffeine.

Right before he got to the shop, he passed the street that would eventually take him to Lottie’s flat. He hadn’t been over there in a while.

Usually, the two of them, and sometimes Zayn, would get together after work and just drink cheap wine and vent about their crappy days. Harry made a note to have that happen again. Soon.

He got to the shop and walked in.

The environment was much different than it had been five hours ago.

There was still a line, but everyone was much calmer, now that the early and mid-morning crowds were gone.

He got in line behind a petite woman with blonde hair as she ordered a cappuccino and a caramel macchiato.

A moment later, he was in front of Sophia for the second time that day.

She smiled. “I think you’re in the wrong place, sweetie.”

“No, I’m exactly where I need to be. I spilled my coffee everywhere at work.”

Sophia gasped. “I’m so sorry. How are you managing right now?”

“See? You get me! My friends at work made fun of me.”

“You need new friends.”

“I know.”

"You want the usual?" Sophia confirmed. 

"Yes, please."

He gave her the money for his order and put his wallet back in his pocket.

“Hang on, let me get it,” Sophia said after she rang him up.

“Thank you.”

“Yorkshire tea! Here you go, sir.”

The other barista – Harry didn’t know his name – handed off a cup of tea to an already waiting customer.

Harry raised an eyebrow as he watched the man reach over and take the cup.

He was cute. He had soft-looking, floppy caramel-coloured hair and was wearing a pair of tight, black jeans, black Vans and a jumper that was a little too big for him. The jeans clung to the man’s muscular thighs and were rolled up just enough to reveal tan, bare ankles.

How he still had a tan in November was beyond Harry’s comprehension, but he wasn’t upset.

Harry couldn’t see the rest of his face, but figured that if it was like the rest of his body, then it would be gorgeous, as well.

The man took his tea and turned away from Harry as he took a sip.

“Here, H,” Sophia said, giving him his coffee. “Don’t spill this one.”

“Thanks, Soph. No promises, though.”

As soon as he said that, he turned a little too quickly to the left, and didn’t see that the man he was just watching had walked back up to the counter.

Until it was too late.

The two of them crashed right into each other. The man dropped his tea to the floor, while Harry’s coffee exploded all over the front of the other man, soaking his jumper.

“Shit, shit, shit,” Harry said. “I’m so sorry.”

The man started pulling at his jumper, trying to get it away from his skin.

Sophia grabbed a towel from one of the racks and gave it to the man to try to wipe some of the coffee off.

“I’m so sorry,” Harry said again. “I’ll buy you a new one, I promise.”

“My bloody jumper,” the man groaned. “I love this one, too. Shit, that’s hot.”

“I’m sorry,” Harry repeated.

He got a good look at the man’s face, and he felt his jaw drop a little.

The guy was, well, beautiful. He had brilliant blue eyes that immediately grabbed Harry’s attention, even with the light bags under them. He had sharp cheekbones, made even more prominent by the way his mouth opened as he fanned his jumper away from his body. Plus, now that Harry could see his face, he saw that his tan wasn’t just on his ankles. His entire face, and every other inch of skin that Harry could see, was a golden brown colour. Harry still didn’t know how that was possible.

“It’s all right, mate, just… Watch where you’re going, yeah?”

“I know, just, I haven’t been having a good day today. If you couldn’t tell.”

“Yeah, I had no idea.”

“Soph, can I get another coffee, and for…?”

“Louis.”

“For Louis, can I get a…?”

“Yorkshire tea, with a little milk and no sugar. You um, sort of made it wrong the last time.”

Sophia apologised. “I’ll make this one myself, sir. Spencer! You want to get the mop?”

Harry paid her for the new order. “Jesus, me and mops today,” he muttered to himself.

“What?” Louis asked.

“Nothing.”

The two of them stood quietly while they waited for their order. They moved to a table when Spencer walked over with a mop to clean up the fallen tea and coffee.

“Well, we’re a lively bunch, aren’t we?” Harry asked in attempt to break their silence.

“Hmm? Oh, sorry. I’m just, uh, a little hungover, if I’m being honest.”

“Ah.”

“Yeah. Went to a club last night, and, well, got a little crazy.”

Harry thought the man looked a little too old to be crazy clubbing.

Harry was 25, turning 26 in February, and Louis looked to be another year or two older than him. He didn’t speak his thought out loud, but it rang pretty prominently in his head.

“Understandable. Tea’s probably your best bet for a hangover like that.”

“Agreed. As long as they make it right. I’m very picky when it comes to my tea, you see.”

“I do see. You were going to return that first cup because it was wrong.”

Louis just shrugged. “I like my tea.”

Harry was going to say something else, but Sophia came up to the table at that moment.

“Harry, here’s your coffee. Don’t spill this one. Seriously. Your tea’s coming right up, I promise.”

“Thank you,” Louis said.

“Thanks, Soph.” He checked the time. “Um, I have to get back to work…”

“Yeah, of course. Thanks for the new tea… Harry, was it?”

“Yeah. And you’re welcome. I’ll see you around.”

“See you.”

Harry waved good-bye to Sophia, who had returned to her spot behind the register, before rushing back to work.

He couldn’t get Louis Blue Eyes out of his head for the rest of the day.

\---

Harry was at Lottie’s apartment the following Saturday night when he finally met her brother.

The two of them each had a glass of pinot grigio, waiting for the lasagna that Lottie was cooking to be ready to come out of the oven.

“I feel like we should be at a club or something,” Lottie said as she put a pillow on Harry’s lap and lay down on it.

“It’s not too late, you know. It’s only 8. We could eat and then get dressed and head down to Relic in a couple of hours or something.”

Lottie shook her head as she let out a long yawn. “Nah, I’m good. Maybe next weekend.”

“We said that last weekend. And possibly the weekend before that.”

“Well, I’m changing that! We are going out next weekend, no exceptions!”

“OK, Lottie,” Harry nodded. “Whatever you say.”

She sighed. “Maybe the weekend after, then.”

“That’s fine. The next-to-last weekend before Christmas. We’ll need a stress reliever by then with the way work is going lately.”

“I hate Christmas songs. They’re just so cheery.”

“Um, yeah…”

“You know what I mean. Like, repetitive cheery. I don’t need that much cheer on such a consistent loop.”

“I guess,” Harry shrugged, taking a sip from his glass.

“Maybe I’m just spending too much time with Louis,” Lottie suggested. “He’s not big on holiday music and festivities, either. Of course, he likes giving presents and stuff like that, but… You know he doesn’t even believe in soul mates?”

“What? How is that possible? Doesn’t he have a word?”

“Yeah, but he hates his. He thinks it’s really dumb and pointless and generic, and thinks that people get too hung up on matching up potential soul mates with how much they might link to a single word written on their chests. It makes sense, but… I don’t know. I like to think the world is more optimistic than that.”

“Same.”

They were interrupted by a knock at the door.

“Who the bloody hell is that?” Lottie wondered.

She jumped up and went to answer it.

Harry relaxed further into the couch, listening to Lottie as she asked whoever was at the door what they were doing there.

“Just stopping by to see my sister. Is that such a crime?”

Harry furrowed his brow. That voice sounded familiar.

“You want lasagna, don’t you?” Lottie asked.

Harry could practically hear her rolling her eyes.

“Why? Are you making it?”

“I know you saw my Snap chat, loser. You know I’m making it.”

“Well, if you insist I stay, then I guess I can.”

“I didn’t insist, Louis.”

Louis _._ From the coffee shop the other day.

Harry turned in his seat to see Mr. Blue Eyes himself walking further into the flat, kicking off his sneakers.

“Oh,” Louis said, seeing Harry sitting there. “Coffee black.”

“Yorkshire tea,” Harry replied as a way of greeting Louis. “You’re Lottie’s brother?”

“Sure am. And my little sister didn’t tell me she had a friend over.”

“You would’ve known that if you had bothered to text me and ask before coming over.”

“I’m not interrupting anything, am I?” Louis whispered loudly to his sister.

“Ew, no,” Harry and Lottie answered in unison.

“Did you just say, ‘ew’?” Lottie asked.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Louis and Lottie both wondered.

Harry quickly glanced between them. “Oh, you two are definitely related…”

He just took another sip of his wine.

“You’re not interrupting anything,” Lottie said. “We’re just hanging out.”

“Oh. Well, that’s good to know,” Louis replied, his voice noticeably more cheerful. He sat down in the armchair across from the television. “Harry, it’s good to see you again.”

“Same to you.”

“You guys know each other?” Lottie asked, returning to her seat and resting her head back on the pillow.

“Um, yeah,” Louis answered, raising an eyebrow at their close position. “Harry threw his coffee at me the other day.”

Harry denied the accusation. “I didn’t throw it at you. You walked into me.”

“Did not. I turned around and you weren’t watching where you were going.”

“If you hadn’t been so insistent on telling Sophia that she made your tea wrong,  _you_  wouldn’t have crashed into  _me_.”

“Louis, being picky about his tea?” Lottie said sarcastically. “Never seen that before.”

“Shut it.”

Lottie stuck her tongue out at him in response. 

Harry smiled at the sibling banter. It reminded him a lot of him and Gemma, whenever their schedules actually lined up.

He made a mental note to call her soon. He hadn’t spoken to her in a while.

“So how do you guys know each other?” Louis asked, propping his feet up on the coffee table.

“I’m her boss,” Harry replied.

Lottie scoffed. “You are not.” She reached up, grabbed his right nipple through his T-shirt and twisted it.

“Ow!”

In retaliation, Harry poked Lottie, right in the spot above her hip where he knew she was most ticklish.

“No!” she warned. “Harry, don’t.”

With a grin, he started tickling her in that same spot, making her squeal and squirm on the couch.

“Harry, stop it!” she yelled through her giggles as she tried to get away from him.

Harry laughed as she got up and walked into the kitchen, claiming she had to go check on the lasagna.

He took another sip from his glass before looking over at Louis, who was watching him very carefully.

“What?”

“You like my sister?” Louis asked bluntly.

“Of course I do. She’s awesome.”

“You know what I meant.”

“Yeah, I do,” Harry smirked. “And don’t worry, Overprotective Big Brother. Lottie’s one of my best friends. Besides, she’s really not my type.”

“Oh, no? Who is?”

“Someone with a cock, usually.”

He paused, not meaning to come out to Lottie’s brother ten minutes after officially meeting him.

“Um, sorry, I… I didn’t mean to-“

“It’s OK,” Louis interrupted. “Me, too.”

“You, too?”

“Yup.”

And then Louis winked.

“Oh,” Harry understood. “ _Oh._ ”

Louis chuckled at Harry’s reaction.

“Well, then…”

He cleared his throat before prompting, “So, Lottie mentioned before that you moved here for a job?”

“Yeah, she’d be right,” Louis replied easily. “I got an offer I just couldn’t refuse.”

“What do you do?”

“I’m an audio engineer. I spend a lot of time in studios, listening to upcoming artists and helping them make something that’s going to let them break into the music industry.”

“That sounds incredible,” Harry told him.

“It’s pretty great. I meet a lot of cool people, too. And, some of the artists are just so thankful for the chance to just  _be_ in the studio. It makes it easier to put out great work for people who actually appreciate the opportunity they have, you know?”

“Definitely. Nothing worse than working with people who are ungrateful for your hard work.”

“Exactly!” Louis said. “You know, I worked my way up from the bottom. Not that I’m at the top of the hierarchy by any means, but I started the same way everybody else in my field did. I went to uni for music production, and did internships and worked part-time as an assistant. I paid my dues. And now I get to use that to give back to the ones who deserve it most.”

Harry nodded, listening to Louis speak. He admired the passion behind Louis’ words, but all he could really focus on was the way that Louis’ lips moved, how he over enunciated his words, letting his Doncaster accent shine through.

Harry wondered if they were soft or not, or if they would be rough against Harry’s and take control.

Then he realised that Louis had stopped speaking. And Harry was still staring.

Louis had a small smile on his face, waiting for Harry to do something.

With nothing else to respond with, Harry tipped his head back and drained the glass of the last drops of wine it held. “I’m gonna get another glass. And check on Lottie.”

He stood up quickly and headed toward the kitchen.

When he got there, he found Lottie leaning against the counter, texting on her phone.

“Is Louis staying for dinner?” he asked, going for a nonchalant tone.

“Probably,” Lottie answered. “Freeloader… That’s OK with you, right? I didn’t even ask.”

“Yeah, it’s fine. Promise.”

He made sure to pour himself some extra wine once he said that. He would have to stare at Louis’ beautiful face across the dinner table soon without pulling down his joggers and sucking him off right there. It was going to be a long night.

\---

A week later, Harry and Liam were eating dinner at the pub down the road from their flat.

Their work schedules almost never matched up for them to be able to spend any real time together, so they tried to go out at least once a month, just the two of them.

“So how’s the hypochondriac?” Harry asked, referring to one of Liam’s patients who was never satisfied with his doctors’ recommendations.

Liam fixed him with a levelling stare.

“That bad, huh?”

“He’s just, so…” Liam struggled to find the right words. “Like, he came in the other day and said that he went to another doctor to get his opinion. That makes it the third one he’s spoken to. All of them have said that there is no broken bone; it’s just a muscle strain, and physical therapy will fix it.”

“But he thinks he broke his leg?” Harry wondered.

“He really must think so. So I asked him, ‘What are you trying to hear?’ And I told him that it sounds like he’s looking for the doctors to tell him one thing, and they’re not.”

“What did he say to that?”

“Came up with some nonsense about wanting to make sure the doctors were telling him the truth. But, the doctors wouldn’t lie about that. If anything, shady ones would tell him that there  _was_ something wrong with him just so they could operate on him and make money off it.”

Harry took a sip of his beer, letting Liam vent.

“I don’t know,” Liam said, shaking his head. “I’m just doing what I can to help him with the problem, but it’s hard when he doesn’t give it his all because he doesn’t want to risk worsening the injury he thinks he has.”

“All you can do is try to help him.”

“Yeah, I know. It’s just annoying.”

Harry nodded in sympathy. “Have some more of your beer,” he told him as he tilted his head toward the bottle in front of Liam.

Liam laughed, and took a long drink, as instructed.

“So how’s your job?” Liam asked.

“It’s good. Holidays are coming up, which means that it’s only gonna get more hectic. When they’re over, we just have to get ready for Valentine’s Day.”

“Ooh, your favourite.”

“I hate pink,” Harry muttered. “I used to love it, but after seeing it so much on the racks, I could go without it.”

Before Liam could say anything else, they were interrupted by a familiar voice.

“Harry?”

They turned, and Harry saw Louis a few feet away with a man with blonde hair.

“Louis; hey! What are you doing here?”

“Oh, we just finished eating,” Louis answered. “We were over there.”

He pointed toward one of the back booths, where the busboy was just wiping down the table.

“Oh, cool. I didn’t know you come here.”

“I don’t, actually. Niall comes here a lot, and he made me come tonight. Oh, this is Niall, by the way. My flatmate.”

“Hey, nice to meet you, man,” Harry said, extending his hand to shake.

“You, too,” Niall replied, taking Harry’s hand in his own.

“I’m Harry.”

Niall grinned, his hand still holding onto Harry’s. “Yeah… I know.”

Harry’s eyes narrowed slightly. “Um. OK?”

“It’s  _so_ nice to meet you!”

Harry was confused about Niall’s reaction, so he looked over to Louis, hoping for some kind of explanation. Maybe Niall had had a few too many beers while they were eating or something.

Surprisingly, Louis was looking away from the table with his lips pursed out, avoiding any and all eye contact.

“Uh, anyway, this is Liam. He’s my flatmate.”

“Hey, how ya doing, mate?” Liam asked, nodding his head toward Niall.

“Good. You?”

“Doing all right.”

“So you’re Harry’s  _flatmate?_ ” Niall wondered, like he needed the clarification.

“Yeah…” Liam said.

“Oh, good. That’s great. Louis, did you hear that? This is Liam, Harry’s  _flatmate_.”

Louis glared at Niall before smiling at Liam.

“Yeah, Liam,” Harry continued, “over there, suddenly being awkward, is Louis. That’s Lottie’s brother.”

“Oh, yeah. Nice to meet you, too.”

“I’m not being awkward,” Louis pouted.

Harry shrugged.

“Um, so I was talking to Lottie yesterday,” Louis started, “and she said she wants to get people together to hit up a club or something. Would you want to go? If we did?”

“Yeah, I’d go,” Harry nodded. “I mean, Lottie says all the time that she wants to get people to go out, and it rarely happens. But if it does, then I’ll definitely go.”

Louis grinned. “Cool.”

“Awesome.”

The two of them stared at each other, both of them with smiles on their faces.

It wasn’t until Liam loudly cleared his throat that the two of them were shaken out of whatever daze they were in.

“Um,” Louis said, “yeah, we’re gonna head out. But, I’ll see you around the store, maybe? Until Lottie organises the night out, I mean.”

“Yeah, definitely. I’m there every day until 3:30.”

“OK. See you, guys.”

“Bye.”

Louis and Niall headed out, and Harry was faced with a disgusted-looking Liam.

“What the fuck was that?” Liam asked.

“What?”

“The eye-fucking that was happening right in front of me. That was gross to watch, Harry.”

“There was no  _eye-fucking._ ”

“Yeah, there was plenty of it. You want Lottie’s brother?”

“No!” Harry shook his head. “No way. I just met the guy.”

“Well rein in the hormones, then. I can’t believe you made me watch that with my own two eyes.”

Harry rolled his eyes and picked up Liam’s beer bottle, holding it up to Liam’s lips.

“Drink your beer, Liam.”

\---

Harry didn’t know why he did it.

Maybe it was because he was tired of hearing Zayn and Lottie giggle behind him when Kyle talked to him.

Maybe he was curious of whether or not Kyle was actually his soul mate.

Maybe he was extra horny that day.

He wasn’t sure. But the point was, he asked Kyle out. If nothing else, he would finally figure out if he and Kyle were meant to be.

Harry was sitting in the back room, looking through the style guide one more time before he clocked out for the day.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Kyle come in and start looking through the racks for a sweater in a certain size.

“Hey, Harry,” Kyle greeted quickly.

“Hey.”

The two of them did their respective tasks in silence, and Kyle rushed out a moment later.

Ten minutes later, Kyle came back, this time, looking for jeans.

He looked through the racks again, but couldn’t find what he was looking for.

He started to walk back out to the sales floor.

Maybe it was something about how confidently Kyle carried himself as he walked. It could’ve been how his ass looked in his jeans. Or maybe it was something else.

Either way, Harry decided to go for it.

“Hey, Kyle,” Harry called.

“Yeah?”

Kyle turned around and walked closer to Harry.

“What are you doing next Saturday night?”

“Next Saturday? Um, nothing, I don’t think. Why?”

“Do you want to go out? With me?”

Kyle’s eyes widened slightly, and if Harry wanted to be rude, he would’ve started laughing.

“Uhh… Yeah. I mean, yes. That sounds great.”

“Great. I was thinking we could just get dinner? Maybe head to the cinema if there’s anything good out?”

“Sounds perfect,” Kyle said. “Where, um, where do you want to go?”

“Carina’s?” Harry suggested. “That’s not too fancy for a first date, right?”

“No, not at all. So, we’re clear, then. This would be a date?”

Harry smiled. “Yeah, it would be a date.”

“OK. Cool, um, I’ll just, um...” As he spoke, Kyle backed up, like he was afraid to be in the same room as Harry for too much longer.

“I’ll see you later?”

“Yup,” Harry answered.

Kyle took another step back, and turned around, only to crash into a mannequin.

“Shit,” Kyle mumbled. “Um, I’ll see you out there.”

He made his way past the mannequin and hurried out of the room to avoid embarrassing himself again.

Harry let out a few quiet laughs and told himself that the date would go well, especially if Kyle was just as nervous about it as he was.

\---

“Harry, we’re going out next Saturday night!” Lottie declared the next day when she came back from break. “Clear your calendar; it’s happening.”

“No, we’re not.”

“Yeah, we are. I’ve decided that it needs to happen. And it’s happening Saturday night. We’re gonna go to Relic, and dance and drink and have fun, like the twentysomething-year-olds we are.”

“I have a date with Kyle next Saturday night,” Harry rushed to tell her.

Lottie paused. “Wait, what? Why didn’t you tell me?”

She slapped him on the arm.

“When did this happen?” she asked, as if she didn’t hear the cry of pain he let out.

“I asked him yesterday,” Harry answered, rubbing at the sore spot. He was sure he would have a red mark left behind from the strength of her smack.

“Well, damn. Why didn’t you tell me before? I already told Em. And Zayn. And Louis.”

“Are they all going?”

“Yup. You were the last one, because I assumed you’d be free.”

“Why would you assume I’d be free?” Harry wondered.

“I don’t know,” Lottie shrugged. “Usually we’re always free on the same nights.”

“Oh. Well not Saturday. I’m sorry. Maybe we can come after.”

“I hope you don’t! No offence, but if you two come clubbing with us after a date, then that’s not a good sign for your dating future.”

“Yeah, that’s true…” Harry realised. “Well, next time, we’re definitely all going.”

“Fine. That’s fair. So what are you going to wear? Something tight? Maybe something sheer?”

“It’s probably going to be, like, seven degrees that night.”

“So… Something tight? Something sheer?”

“You really want me to get laid, don’t you?”

“Maybe,” Lottie answered. “Only because you deserve it.”

“I  _deserve_ to get laid? Haven’t heard that one yet.”

“Sure you do. It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

“I guess.”

Harry avoided eye contact. He didn’t want to confirm that it really had been a while since he’d been out on a proper date.

“Aww,” Lottie cooed. She leaned up and kissed him on the cheek. “Good luck, then. If you need me to save you, just let me know.”

“Really hoping I won’t need that, but thank you.”

Lottie shrugged before returning to the floor. Harry shook his head and got back to the mannequin he had been dressing.

\---

Louis came in to the store a few days later, just before quitting time.

It had become routine at this point.

Ever since the night he and Louis had officially met at Lottie’s flat, Louis came into the store once or twice a week. And it was always right before 3:30, when Harry clocked out for the day.

He didn’t buy anything; he just hung out, talking to Lottie, Harry or Zayn. Sometimes he would talk to the other employees, but mostly it was just the three of them that he singled out.

Harry didn’t mind it; in fact, he had quickly started looking forward to Louis’ visits as much as he looked forward to his morning cup of coffee.

Harry saw him go over to Lottie. He spoke with her for a few minutes before making his way over to Harry.

“Hey, H.”

“Hey, Louis,” Harry grinned. “Fancy seeing you here.”

“I know, right?”

“What brings you by?”

Harry picked up the hangers he had dropped to the ground while reorganising the clearance racks. Trying not to drop them, he walked over the counter, deposited them into a large bin and turned back to hear Louis’ answer.

“I’m on a break,” Louis said. “Started getting bored of the studio walls, so I came over to say hi to my least favourite sister.”

“I think you’re supposed to say she’s your ‘favourite’ sister.”

Louis shook his head. “You haven’t met Doris yet. She’s way more adorable than Lottie.”

Harry smiled at Louis’ description. He’d heard a lot about the youngest twins in Lottie’s family, but had yet to actually meet them.

“Hey, remember when I came in the store and we were talking about soul mates? It was  _ages_ ago.”

“You mean Monday?” Harry grinned. “Yeah, I remember.”

Harry remembered very well. A few days ago, Louis had come in mere minutes before Harry clocked out for the day.

Louis wasn’t able to talk to Lottie, who had been assisting a customer who was very specific about the lint to fabric ratio of the sweaters she wanted to buy.

Anyway, Louis and Harry had spent nearly an hour in the back room talking about soul mates, half of which consisted of Harry trying to convince Louis in the existence of them.

It didn’t work, as Louis still rolled his eyes at the mention of the term, but Harry had had fun trying.

“Well, guess who came in my studio this morning, needing to work on a song about soul mates?”

“Who?”

“Ed fucking Sheeran.”

Harry’s eyes nearly bulged out of his head.

“Oh, my God! Did you see him? Did you talk to him? What’s he like? What’s the song about? Sing me the words!”

“Easy!” Louis tried to calm Harry down. “I didn’t actually work with him. He was in a different part of the building. I just talked to him for a minute when we were in the elevator, and he just sort of mentioned it.”

“What do you mean, he just sort of mentioned it?”

“I mean, he got on the elevator with me, and I introduced myself and told him that I worked in the building. He said that was cool and asked if I was the one he’d be working with. I said that I wasn’t, but maybe I would be in the future. Then I asked if he had anything to record, or if he was just there for a writing session. And he said he had a song about soul mates that he was going to start recording today. Then he got off the elevator and he left.”

“Wow.”

“Yeah,” Louis said. “It was awesome. He’s a really chill guy.”

“You’re so lucky. I hate you.”

“Oh, thank you for that,” Louis pouted.

“Stop! Don’t pout; you know that makes me feel guilty.”

So Louis pouted even more, and made his eyes look sadder than they had the day he found out Lottie was moving to London.

“Fine!” Harry caved. “I don’t hate you.”

Louis’ face immediately shifted from one of sadness to one of pure joy. “Yay!”

“Jerk.”

“You love me.”

Harry shrugged a shoulder and leaned back against the counter.

“So, Saturday night,” Louis prompted. “You’re coming, right?”

“Oh, yeah, um… no. I can’t make it.”

Louis’ face only fell slightly. “How come?”

“I have other plans. I didn’t realise Lottie was serious about going out this time.”

“What could possibly be more exciting than going out with us?”

“I have a date, actually.”

“Oh.”

Harry looked up at Louis’ tone. The other man’s face was the pure definition of ‘surprised.’ His lips were parted, his eyes were wide and his eyebrows had shot up.

“What?”

“Sorry, I just, I-” Louis stuttered. “Um, I didn’t realise…”

“Didn’t realise what? That I date? Every now and then, yeah.”

“No, not that, just- I, um, I thought that-”

“Hey, Harry,” Kyle greeted, walking up behind the counter. “We’re still good for Saturday, right?”

“Yup. I made the reservation for eight; is that OK?”

“That’s perfect. I’ll see you then.”

Harry smiled at him.

“Hey, Louis,” Kyle said.

“Hey.”

Kyle grabbed a few hangers from the bin under the counter and headed off.

Harry waited until Kyle was gone before looking back at Louis, only to find the other man with his eyes narrowed, focused on Kyle’s retreating form.

“Louis?”

Louis shook and turned his attention back to Harry. He cleared his throat before asking, “So, Kyle, huh?”

“Yeah. He’s liked me for a while, so…”

“So, it’s like a pity date?”

“No, not at all,” Harry replied, shaking his head. “He’s really nice and considerate. He always buys me coffee and always listens when I need to vent about something happening here at work. He’s cute, too.”

Louis nodded, listening to what Harry said. “Yeah, but I always thought it was a bad idea to date people you work with. Like, what if something goes wrong? Then you have to see him all the time.”

“It’s just a first date,” Harry chuckled. “I’m not marrying the guy.”

“Yeah, but you could.”

“Well, sure, I  _could._ But I don’t know if that would actually happen.”

“You should marry him.”

“Huh?”

“Yeah,” Louis grumpily continued. “You could get married and have perfectly dressed babies and you could be like, the model family for H&M. That sounds great.”

“What are you ta- Like, what? What is the matter with you?”

“I gotta go. I’ll see you… Oh. Well, I won’t see you Saturday. I’ll see you around.”

He turned on his heel and left the store, leaving Harry staring after him and trying to figure out what the fuck just happened.

\---

Harry had always been proud of his ability to make small talk with anybody. Usually, he could make friends with whomever he encountered, either at work, at a party or even in the supermarket.

He could take an awkward situation and make it at least tolerable, and sometimes enjoyable.

That’s how he knew that Kyle wasn’t his soul mate.

They’d been at dinner for nearly an hour, and Harry didn’t feel any more of a connection than he had when he first walked in.

He knew a lot more about Kyle and his ambitions and his background, and Kyle knew a lot about him.

Tonight, Harry had learned that Kyle had one sister and two brothers, had lived in London all his life and shared a flat with his older brother. He’d worked a series of odd jobs since he was old enough to, but H&M was the one he enjoyed most.

He had a dog named Moose and could see himself moving out of the city and to the country within the next few years to start a family.

It was everything that Harry should want.

The problem was, there wasn’t any…  _spark._ He could’ve been talking to Liam or Zayn at this point, and he wouldn’t have been able to tell the difference.

The waiter came up to them and asked if they wanted another drink.

The two of them looked at each other, not quite sure where the other stood.

“Um…” Harry stalled.

Kyle pressed his lips together, searching Harry’s face for the right answer. Eventually, he told the waiter, “No, thank you. Just the check.”

The waiter nodded and headed toward the back of the restaurant.

“Are you not feeling this, either?”

Harry shook his head. “No,” he said softly.

Kyle sighed and sat back in his chair.

“You know, the whole soul mate thing is really annoying,” he started, “but it makes it a lot easier to know if the first date with someone is also the last date.”

Harry nodded. “I’m sorry.”

“Not your fault. At least we tried.”

“Yeah, we did,” Harry smiled. “Hey, what is your word, anyway? I never asked.”

“Curls. You?”

“Coffee. I don’t know; I thought you probably would be it since you brought me coffee every day, you know?”

“Yeah…”

Kyle started chewing his lower lip, like he was fearful of what he had to say.

“What?”

“Can I tell you something?” Kyle asked carefully.

Harry nodded, encouraging Kyle to tell him what was wrong.

“Well… A few weeks after I got hired, I overheard you talking to Lottie about what your words were, and I heard you saying that your word was ‘coffee.’”

“Uh huh…”

“Well, I sort of thought that, maybe, if I bought you coffee everyday, then that would… Maybe…”

“Make us soul mates?”

“Well, it sounds bad when you say it like that.”

“How else am I supposed to say it?” Harry asked loudly.

Kyle looked down at his lap, looking ashamed.

“I’m sorry! I really am, just, you’re so amazing, Harry. You probably know that, but you are. You were so sweet to me when I started, and really helped me out with everything around the store. And you’re funny, and considerate and fit as hell. Can you really blame me?”

Harry sighed. He wasn’t sure how he felt about it. Flattered, sure, but also a little unnerved and very annoyed. It was sweet – and creepy – that Kyle wanted to be with Harry badly enough that he tried to mess with the universe and make them have a connection that clearly wasn’t there.

At the end of the day, Harry was more pissed that he didn’t listen to his gut. He knew he wasn’t overthinking it. Kyle wasn’t his soul mate.

“Look, Kyle, you’re a sweet guy. And, I honestly am flattered that you think so highly of me that you’d want a relationship with me that badly, but you can’t mess with fate. There’s someone out there for you; the word on your chest proves that. But that someone isn’t me. I’m sorry.”

“It’s OK. I guess I just have to be patient.”

“I think that’s the point of this whole ‘soul mates’ thing,” Harry said kindly.

Kyle nodded. “Well, I still had fun tonight. We could like, still hang out as friends, right?”

“Absolutely. You’re a cool guy, Kyle.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

He took a second to check his messages, and saw that Lottie had texted him a few minutes ago.

**_Lottie: You need me to call with some fake emergency?_ **

And then Harry remembered.

“Hey, you want to go out as friends right now?”

“Well, we’re already out…”

“Yeah, but, you want to go to a club? Maybe your soul mate’s there. You never know.”

Kyle laughed. “I guess I really don’t know, huh? Which club?”

“Relic. Lottie’s there with her flat mate and her brother. I think Zayn went, too.”

“Oh, I used to bartend there. We won’t have to wait in line. Let’s go.”

\---

Harry and Kyle got to Relic twenty minutes later.

As promised, Kyle knew the bouncer, and they were able to walk right in.

Immediately upon entering, Harry spotted Lottie, Em, Zayn, Louis and Niall standing around a table.

“Hey!” Harry yelled over the thumping bass of the music.

They turned to his voice and eagerly welcomed him to the group.

Lottie immediately pulled him into a hug. “You made it!”

“I did. I know you missed me.”

He gave hugs to Em and Zayn, too, before turning to Louis and Niall.

“Hey, Louis. Good to see you again, Niall.”

“Harry, I’m so glad you’re here!” Niall said excitedly.

“Why’s that?”

“I don’t have to help Louis pull anymore.”

Harry’s brow furrowed in confusion. “Wait. What?”

“Who wants a drink?” Louis asked loudly. “Zayn? Good pal? Let’s go! Harry, you coming?”

Louis and Zayn walked over to the bar, and Harry asked Kyle if he wanted to go, too.

“Nah, I think I’m gonna take a lap first,” Kyle answered.

Harry nodded, and Kyle walked in the opposite direction.

Lottie gave him a stern look, to which Harry replied, “Later.”

He went to the bar, sitting next to Zayn.

“Spill,” Zayn demanded before Harry could even get comfortable.

“No chemistry. It’s not gonna work out.”

Zayn’s shoulders sagged. “Sorry, Harry.”

“It’s OK. At least we tried it, you know? Now I’ll never wonder what  _could’ve_  happened. I won’t have a ‘What if?’ hanging over my head.”

“Good way to look at it.”

“So, it’s really not gonna work out?” Louis asked, like he needed the confirmation.

Harry shook his head. “Nah. It’s cool, though. We both said we’ll still be friends, and I think we really will be. I don’t think it’ll be one of those situations where we say that we’ll stay friends, but secretly avoid each other at all costs.”

“Oh.”

Louis nodded before looking back to their friends. “Oh, Zayn, I think Niall is calling you.”

Harry and Zayn glanced over toward the group, but Niall was nowhere in sight.

“He is?” Zayn wondered. “Where is he?”

“Yeah, I don’t even see him,” Harry added.

“Oh, no, he’s over there. See?” Louis pointed toward their friends. “Right there?”

Suddenly, Zayn fell off his chair, his feet barely landing on the ground.

“You OK?” Harry asked.

“Yeah…” Zayn replied, stealing a quick, but grumpy look at Louis. “Must’ve fallen off my chair or something.”

“Strange.”

“Yeah, I know. I’ll, uh, go find Niall, I guess.”

Zayn flicked a glance between the two of them before turning around and heading back in the direction in which they came.

Harry shrugged and looked over at Louis, who had a small smile on his face.

“Do you mind if I-?” Louis asked carefully, pointing to the chair next to Harry.

“Oh, no; of course.”

Louis shifted over to the newly open seat, and said, “I’m glad you made it out tonight.”

“Yeah, me, too. You know, we both realised that we weren’t feeling it pretty quickly, and I really don’t think there will be any animosity or anything between us. I suggested coming here since I knew you guys would be, and he even got us in without waiting in line because he knows the bouncer. So… I think it worked out for everybody in the end.”

“Oh, you can say that again.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, um, your date, but not really a date, is making out with that guy over there.”

Harry turned and looked in the direction that Louis was looking, and sure enough, Kyle had some other guy, who was a bit smaller than him and had blonde, curly hair, pressed up against a wall with his tongue down his throat.

Harry started giggling.

“It would’ve been really awkward if you guys  _were_ still on that date, huh?”

Harry turned back around as Louis asked that question, and the two of them started laughing together.

“Oh, my God, what is my life?” Harry moaned jokingly.

“Never dull, that’s for sure.”

“Definitely.”

“So, if you don’t mind me asking, why didn’t the date work out? You both seem like two pretty chill people.”

“Um… I guess, we tried to make something happen that wasn’t there. It wasn’t a bad thing. I mean, it answered a few questions I was having anyway.”

“You still trying for that soul mate concept?”

Harry sighed. “Yeah. I know he’s out there somewhere; I just have to figure out where.”

Louis nodded. “Good for you, man. People need more optimism like that.”

“Thanks.”

“Just for that, I’m buying you a shot.”

“Being optimistic gets me a free shot?”

“Yeah, didn’t you learn that in uni? ‘Scoring Free Drinks 101’?”

“Can’t say that I did. Must’ve slept through lecture that day.”

“Shame. At least you have me to teach you.”

Three shots later, Harry and Louis were out on the dance floor, surrounded by all of their friends.

Louis let himself sway to the beat of the music, feeling the bass pounding through his body as he moved.

Harry watched him out of the corner of his eye, admiring how well Louis danced.

Harry wasn’t much of a dancer, so instead, he stood near Niall, and the two of them switched between their craziest moves.

Harry broke out the ‘lawn mower’ for a moment, before Niall started the Macarena, completely off-beat.

In response to that, Harry started to ‘walk like an Egyptian.’ Niall returned with the ‘shopping cart.’

Their friends laughed while the two of them went back and forth. Neither of them cared much, as both had had a decent amount of alcohol in their time there.

Harry was more of a lightweight than he cared to admit, so the shots he’d just taken with Louis were already affecting him.

When the song changed, Harry noticed a guy to the side of their group eyeing up Lottie. He looked a bit creepy, and definitely not someone that Lottie would be interested in.

As they’d done many times before, Harry walked up behind his friend, pulling her close to him, her back to his chest.

He wrapped his arms around her waist, leaned down and spoke in her ear, “Creep. Green shirt. Three o’clock.”

Lottie threw her head back on his shoulder and casually glanced in that direction.

She simply nodded, signalling that she knew who he was talking about.

The two of them danced together for a few songs, both of them keeping an eye on the guy in the green.

Once he left their eye sights, and stayed gone for another song length, they broke apart.

“Green shirt?” Zayn asked them when they were separated.

“Yup,” Harry replied.

“I saw him, too. If you didn’t go over there, I would’ve.”

“Aww, you guys are the best, you know that?” Lottie cooed. She reached over and pinched both of their cheeks.

The two of them rolled their eyes, but let Lottie fawn over them for a minute. The extra attention didn’t hurt.

When Lottie stepped back and told them that she and Em were going to the bathroom, Harry looked over at Louis, who had a sour look on his face.

Before he could ask him what was wrong, Niall elbowed Louis in the side.

Harry watched as Louis glanced at Niall and plastered a smile on his face.

He then looked back over at Harry and Zayn.

Harry was confused about what had just happened. Zayn just laughed, raising an eyebrow at Niall, who returned it with a smirk.

Apparently, Harry was missing something, but he knew none of them would tell him what it was.

\---

At some point in the evening, Zayn had disappeared into the crowd, and Niall had started chatting up a pretty brunette.

Around 2 a.m., Lottie and Em said they were heading home.

“You want me to go with you?” Louis offered. “Make sure you get back OK?”

“No, stay,” Lottie insisted. “Have fun. Maybe you can find Zayn… or not. Whichever. Just don’t tell me what you do tonight, OK?”

“Promise.”

Smiling, Lottie gave her brother a big hug and did the same to Harry. “Call me tomorrow and tell me all the details about what officially happened with Kyle.”

“I will,” Harry promised. “Bye, Em.”

“Bye, Harry.” Em gave both of the boys quick hugs, and then they were out the door to get a cab back to their flat.

“And then there were two,” Louis grinned.

“So it would seem. You want to go back to the bar?”

“Of course.”

The two of them went back and found seats next to each other.

Louis flagged down the bartender and ordered two more shots and two drinks for them.

After taking their shots, Louis asked Harry something he wanted to know.

“Why did you do that for my sister?”

“Do what?”

“Dance with her like that?” Louis clarified, taking a sip of his beer. “You kept her safe from that creepy guy who I didn’t actually see, but trust was there.”

Harry shrugged. “Lottie’s one of my best friends. She’s like a younger sister to me. I don’t want her to get hurt; not if I can help it. So, we came up with that system a couple months back: I pretend to be the boyfriend, potential hook-up, whatever else so that the guys I know she won’t like will back off. It works pretty well.”

“And Zayn does the same thing?”

“Sometimes. Usually, it’s me. Like, if I didn’t show up tonight, Zayn would’ve stepped in to look out for her.”

“Wow…” Louis said. “You’re a really great guy, Harry.”

“Thanks. I just hope there’s someone out there who does the same for my sister, you know?”

“If I ever meet her, I’ll gladly do that.”

Harry smiled. “Thanks. Appreciate that.”

“So… what’s next on the soul mate search?” Louis asked.

“I don’t know,” Harry answered. “Whatever I’m doing isn’t working. I’m not finding him anywhere.”

“He’ll get here. I don’t know, is there anywhere you haven’t looked yet?”

“No; nowhere in London, anyway. Maybe I need to move or something.”

“Move?”

“Who am I kidding? I can’t move away. My job’s here, my friends are here. My family is back in Cheshire, though. That might be nice to be back with them.”

“You would move back home to find your soul mate?”

“No. Yes. I don’t know. Maybe. There could be a new, single, gay neighbour in my town. Or maybe my sister knows someone.”

Harry let out a loud sigh.

“Sorry, mate,” Louis said.

“It’s just so frustrating. God… I just need to get fucked.”

Louis slowly blinked and raised his eyebrows. “Uh… What?”

“Yeah, maybe that will help. Or not. Just- You have the right idea. I’m so hung up on finding ‘the one’ that I’m missing out on so much. Like, I could be getting laid right now, but instead, I’m waiting for Mr. Right to come strolling in. God, he’s taking forever.”

Louis nodded and watched Harry like he was having his own internal debate.

Harry finished his drink and set down his glass.

“Um…” Louis cleared his throat. “I could, um…” He cleared his throat again. “I could help you out with that.”

“Huh?”

“If you want, I mean, you don’t have to say ‘yes.’”

“What are you talking about?” Harry asked.

“I’m talking about you saying that you want to get fucked, and I, well – I do that. With… other men.”

Louis stared at Harry with a baffled expression clearly written on his face. As if even he couldn’t believe those words had just come out of his mouth.

Harry cracked a smile, and immediately started laughing.

Louis jutted his lower jaw out as he watched Harry’s reaction.

“I do that with other men,” Harry mocked, imitating Louis’ words in a higher-pitched voice.

“Well, I don’t know! How else am I supposed to tell my friend that I’ll fuck him if he wants me to?”

Harry laughed even harder. “Not like that!”

He threw his head back before covering his face with his hands.

Louis rolled his eyes and looked away, hoping nobody else in the club was observing this train wreck of an interaction.

“I’m so sorry,” Harry said once he stopped laughing. “Just know that I’m laughing at the situation, not at you. I would love for you to fuck me.”

“You don’t have to make fun of me.”

“I’m not making fun of you!” Harry insisted. “It’s just, that’s not something I hear every day; you know what I mean? Men offering to fuck me because I’m annoyed that I haven’t met my soul mate yet.”

“You probably get offers all the time; come on.”

“You’d be surprised. They’re kind of few and far between. Probably another reason I’m eager for my soul mate to get here. So I can get a reliable lay.”

“That is a perk to finding your true love, I suppose.”

“Definitely doesn’t hurt.”

“Well, who knows?” Louis wondered. “Your soul mate could be in this club right now, and you might not even know it.”

“Doubt that.”

“You didn’t even try! Come on, there’s gotta be somebody who catches your eye.”

Harry looked around the club, trying to see if there was anybody who he might be interested in.

At this point of the evening, a lot of club-goers had already gone home, or were paired off with other people.

Louis was the only person there who was attractive and single.

Harry turned back to Louis. “Nah.”

Louis sighed. “Maybe next time.”

“Yeah, I guess. Well, hey, if I had to do that, so do you. If you could take home anybody in this club, who would it be? Point ‘em out.”

Louis shook his head. “Doesn’t matter.”

“Sure it does.”

“No, it doesn’t. I already propositioned a guy, and he laughed in my face.”

Harry looked over at Louis, who honestly could be going home with anybody he wanted, but was still sitting with Harry.

Sad, whiny, way-passed-buzzed Harry, who wouldn’t stop complaining.

Harry didn’t like that description of himself, so he changed it.

He stood up slowly, and closed the space between him and Louis.

“You’re single, right?” he asked lowly.

Louis nodded. He turned his body so that it was facing Harry instead of the bar.

“Good.”

Harry rested his hands on Louis’ thighs and leaned in a little. He stared deep into Louis’ blue eyes while he slowly moved his face closer to Louis’.

When he was just about an inch away, he moved to Louis’ ear and whispered, “Your place or mine?”

\---

The two of them burst through the front door, making out in the doorway to Harry’s flat. The taxi ride had taken forever, and the fact that they managed to wait in the backseat without ripping each other’s clothes off should earn them some kind of award.

They eventually shut the door behind them and kicked off their shoes.

“I have lube in the bedroom,” Harry said as Louis pulled off his jacket and unbuttoned his jeans.

“No need,” Louis replied. He pulled back and took a packet out of one pocket and a condom out of another. He dropped them on the dining table a foot behind them.

“You came prepared.”

Harry took off his shirt and jeans, throwing them onto the armchair nearest to him.

“I try to.”

Louis stripped down to his pants before grabbing Harry’s face and pulling it to his.

Their lips met again, and Louis shoved his tongue down Harry’s throat.

They backed up, still kissing, until Harry’s back hit the wall.

The two of them stood there, letting their hands roam the other’s body until they were sure they had it memorised.

“I want you to fuck me,” Harry whispered into Louis’ ear when they parted for air.

Louis groaned and walked over to the table to grab the condom and lube. He got back to Harry just in time to have the other man drop to his knees.

Harry pulled Louis’ pants down and sucked his hardening cock into his mouth.

He immediately bobbed up and down, getting his dick slick with spit. He swirled his tongue around the top and bottom as he moved, hollowing out his cheeks, as well.

“Shit,” Louis moaned. He put a hand out to lean against the wall behind Harry, not wanting to lose his balance.

He watched Harry’s head move back and forth. It was so fast that Louis was waiting for the moment when Harry would gag. But that moment never came.

Louis felt his eyes flutter shut, and he lost himself in the feeling of Harry sucking on his cock. He felt his orgasm building at an alarming rate, and had to stop Harry before he came in his mouth.

“Stand up,” Louis demanded, “before I come down your throat.”

Harry pulled off slowly, making sure Louis saw the pout on his lips when he did. He rose to his feet and took off his pants. Then he stood with his legs spread wide, waiting for Louis to make the next move.

“Hold this.” Louis grinned. He handed the condom to Harry so he could keep it close by.

Louis opened the lube packet and coated his fingers with it. He moved one finger to Harry’s hole, circling it before slowly pushing in.

Harry let out a deep breath at the feeling and dropped his head back to rest against the wall.

Louis moved his finger in and out slowly. He leaned forward more, pressing his chest against Harry’s. While he worked his finger, he kissed along Harry’s collarbones, leaving a few light marks there, as well.

Louis twisted his finger a little, and then started to press a second in. This was a little more of a stretch, and Louis scissored his fingers out to speed the process along a little.

Harry lifted one leg and wrapped it around Louis, giving him more room and a deeper angle. Louis kept working his fingers in, and curved them a few times as he moved, wanting to find Harry’s prostate.

Harry licked his lips and looked at Louis, who smirked up at him.

Louis stood up on his tiptoes to kiss Harry again. Harry melted into the kiss, sinking down against the wall and feeling more relaxed than he ever had before.

His hole must’ve gotten looser than he realised, because he almost didn’t notice when, a few minutes later, Louis pulled his two fingers out and replaced them with three.

Harry hissed at the new stretch, but Louis’ lips caught the sound.

He rolled his hips down, wanting to help out with the prep. When he did, Louis’ fingers were curved just right, and they grazed against his prostate.

Harry cried out, and bit down on Louis’ lower lip.

Louis growled lowly in his throat and his body pressed more into Harry’s than it had been before. He soon pulled his fingers out and snatched the condom out of Harry’s hands.

He opened the wrapper and slid the condom down his cock. He smeared the rest of the lube around his dick, and dropped the empty packet to the floor.

“I’ll get it later,” he promised.

“Don’t care,” Harry said. He ducked his head down and softly kissed Louis again.

Louis returned it, and then slowly started to press up into Harry.

Harry kept his leg wrapped around Louis’ waist and bent his other knee, so that he was a little lower.

Louis moved gradually, moving up into Harry easily.

Harry could feel Louis’ cock splitting him open. The prep had been just enough; he could still feel the stretch between his legs.

Harry kept kissing Louis until he bottomed out.

Then he pulled back and stared down at where they were joined together.

He watched as Louis moved in and out of him in small thrusts, letting Harry adjust.

Harry blinked slowly, already feeling lighter than he did before. He hid his face in the crook of Louis’ neck as Louis fucked into him, his pace picking up a little more. Harry mouthed at the soft skin on Louis’ neck and under his jaw. He sucked and kissed along the skin, leaving a few light marks and one big red mark underneath his ear.

That drove Louis crazy. He let out a groan and ducked his head down to Harry’s chest. He started nibbling on one of Harry’s nipples, getting a loud cry from him.

Harry loved having his nipples played with, and it came to no shock to him that Louis knew that. So far, he seemed to know everything about Harry’s sexual preferences.

Louis gently bit down on one nipple before swirling his tongue around it and pulling it into his mouth.

Harry moaned and rolled his hips down to meet Louis’ cock as it thrusted back up.

Louis swore out loud and slammed up into Harry.

“Oh!” Harry cried out. He rolled his hips down again just as Louis roughly thrusted up.

“Table,” Harry said. “Fuck me on the table.”

Louis didn’t need to be told twice.

He pulled out, and Harry hurried over to the table and hopped up on it. He leaned back on his hands, and moved his ass forward enough so that it was just hanging off the edge.

Louis held onto Harry’s hips and slipped back in easily before returning to the quick pace that he’d been trying to build up to when he had Harry against the wall.

“Fuck,” Harry whispered. He bit his lower lip and moved one hand up to his nipple. He started rolling the bud between his fingers, pinching it and flicking it until it turned red.

“Harry, you’re so fucking tight,” Louis groaned. “You feel so good on my cock.”

“You fuck me so good,” Harry encouraged. “Don’t stop; please.”

“No?”

“No, please.”

“What if I did?”

Louis slowed his movements until he was totally still.

“No!” Harry whined. He rocked his hips forward, fucking himself down on Louis’ cock. “Come on!”

He planted his feet on the edge of the table and kept moving.

His arms held him up as he pushed his body forward, his hole swallowing up Louis’ cock and releasing it only seconds later. He dropped his head back and focused on getting off. His orgasm had already started to form; he could feel the spot behind his abs starting to clench up.

He kept going, and Louis’ hold on him tightened.

“Real close, babe,” Louis whispered.

“Then fuck me!” Harry yelled as he continued to rock himself forward onto Louis’ cock.

His arms were starting to hurt, and soon, he had a feeling they would give out entirely.

“You better slow down,” Louis warned. “You’re gonna break the table.”

“Don't even care about the table breaking. Just need to come.”

“Bend over,” Louis gritted out.

“Huh?”

Louis pulled out and grabbed onto Harry’s waist. He brought him down to the floor and turned him around. He pushed down on Harry’s back, and Harry quickly caught on. He leaned down, his chest resting on the table. He grabbed onto the edges and held on.

Louis slid back in and started fucking Harry in earnest. He wanted to make him feel it in the morning. He pounded away at Harry’s ass, unsurprised to hear the other man’s whimpers at each thrust.

Harry squeezed his eyes shut as Louis moved in and out of him, jolting him forward each time. His cock was between him and the table, so each motion not only felt amazing inside of him, but provided intense pressure for his dick, as well.

“Oh, shit,” Harry cried out. He felt amazing. It had to have been the best sex of his life and it wasn’t even over yet.

“You close, babe?” Louis asked, continuing his fast pace.

“So close.”

He turned his head so that his forehead was resting on the table. His grip on the table was tightening. Harry wouldn’t have been surprised if they really did break the table, either by the legs snapping in half, or by Harry squeezing the table so tight that pieces came off in his hands.

Harry’s toes curled up, pressing down into the floor.

He couldn’t move; he felt paralysed by pleasure, not wanting to change positions in any way.

He let out another loud whimper, followed by a long moan as he came.

His cock squirted out onto the table, and Harry blacked out for a moment.

He felt detached from his own body, the feeling of Louis’ cock still moving inside of feeling more foreign than it had a minute ago.

He heard Louis groan as he came, too, slowing his thrusts down and working his way through the orgasm until he was finished.

Louis leaned down and kissed along Harry’s spine, listening as his breath evened out, as well.

“Fuck,” Harry whispered. He shut his eyes, feeling the heat from Louis’ chest still radiating against his back.

He let out a soft whine when Louis eventually pulled out. He tied up the condom and threw it out in the kitchen.

He returned a moment later with a wet dishtowel, only to find that Harry hadn’t moved from his spot, still bent over the table.

“Harry,” Louis spoke softly. “Harry? You still with me, babe?”

Harry nodded. He turned his head to look up at Louis. “Just tired.”

“Can you get up for me? I’m gonna wipe your table down.”

Harry sighed, but still stood up. He leaned against the table, watching Louis clean up their mess.

He would never look at this table the same way again.

“And your chest, it looks like.”

Harry looked down at himself, seeing white streaks across his torso.

Louis refolded the towel and wiped Harry off.

When he was done, he threw the towel into the kitchen sink, promising to get it tomorrow.

“You want to go to bed?” Louis asked, placing his hands on Harry’s waist.

Harry smiled. “Will you stay?”

“Mm-hmm.”

Louis leaned in, resting his forehead against Harry’s.

The two of them stood there for a moment, listening to the other breathing in and out.

“Bed,” Louis ordered softly.

Harry nodded, but first, he leaned in and tenderly kissed Louis on the mouth.

Louis returned it the same way, like Harry was extremely delicate and breakable in his post-orgasm state.

After Louis pressed a few close-mouthed kisses to Harry’s lips, he wrapped an arm around his waist.

Still smiling, Harry slowly slung an arm around Louis’ shoulders and led him to his bedroom.

They walked into the room and fell into the bed together. Louis immediately wrapped his arms around Harry, pulling him close.

“You’re beautiful when you’re like this,” Louis complimented, “all warm and soft and extra cuddly.”

Harry felt the heat rush to his cheeks, so he hid his face against Louis’ chest to keep Louis from seeing it.

“Go to sleep, baby,” Louis said quietly.

Harry fell asleep to the feeling of Louis’ lips on his forehead and fingers petting the back of his head.

\---

Harry rolled over the next morning, pleased to see Louis still asleep.

He was lying on his back, his face turned away from Harry.

His lips were parted and his chest rose and fell as Louis breathed evenly. His hair was swept to the side, with a few loose ends falling over his eyes.

Harry examined Louis’ chest further and, since he had been a little busy last night, finally looked at Louis’ word: jumper.

It was a bit of a let down, really. He had hoped it would be something a little more specific.

Shrugging it off, Harry peeked under the covers and saw that Louis was still naked. He smiled to himself and moved to straddle Louis’ bare hips.

Harry ran his hands up and down Louis’ toned chest before resting them on his abs.

He rolled his hips down, sitting his ass on top of Louis’ groin. He felt Louis’ cock catch on his rim and he let out a quiet gasp.

Harry leaned down and nibbled lightly on Louis’ ear before moving down the side of his throat.

Louis shifted underneath him, but didn’t open his eyes.

Harry took that as a sign to move down Louis’ body and lower himself down between Louis’ legs.

Taking Louis’ cock in his hand, he licked up the underside of it and wrapped his lips around the head. He flicked his tongue over the tip and hollowed his cheeks, increasing the suction around it.

Louis started squirming more, his legs moving slowly over the sheets.

Harry pulled off for a second before taking Louis back into his mouth and starting to sink down. He bobbed up and down a few times, making sure to move his tongue back and forth as he went.

He looked up when Louis let out a soft moan, and was rewarded by Louis opening his eyes only a moment later.

Louis looked down at Harry, seeing him quickly sucking on Louis’ cock.

“Fuck,” he whispered, watching Harry work him over.

Harry smiled, his lips still wrapped around Louis’ dick, before pulling off. He got up on his hands and knees and crawled up to straddle Louis’ waist again.

“Good morning, babe,” Harry said.

“Good morning, love,” Louis returned, before pulling Harry’s face down to meet his.

They kissed softly for a few minutes before Louis parted his lips. Harry slipped his tongue inside, letting Louis get a taste of himself.

Louis slowly reached around Harry’s ass and ran one finger around Harry’s rim before pushing gently in.

It was met with no resistance, as Harry was still loose from the night before.

Harry whimpered against Louis’ lips, but didn’t tell Louis to stop.

Instead, he pushed his ass back against Louis’ finger, begging for more.

Louis pulled his finger away and wrapped his arm around Harry’s waist. He slowly flipped them over so that Harry was on the bottom, his head resting on a pillow.

Louis connected their lips again, this time, with a little more force.

Harry moaned again, and Louis moved to kiss along the side of Harry’s neck.

“Lou,” Harry whispered.

“Do you want to?” Louis asked him, praying to God that Harry said yes.

“My stuff’s in the table drawer.”

Louis nodded and sucked the skin on Harry’s neck into his mouth.

Harry cried out as Louis gave him the love bite, leaving a purple splotch there for all the world to see.

Louis got up just long enough to reach over and grab a bottle of lube and a condom from the bedside table. Then he was back to Harry.

He lubed up three fingers and easily slipped two inside. He didn’t have to wait long before sliding the third finger inside and stretching Harry out a little bit more.

“Lou, I’m ready,” Harry insisted. His hard cock curving upward toward his belly further proved that point.

Louis ripped open the condom wrapper using his teeth and rolled it on. He poured some more lube over his cock and lined up.

He gently pressed in, hearing Harry’s breath hitch as he did so. Once he was about halfway in, he lowered down until he was hovering over Harry, resting his weight on his forearms. He wove their fingers together, resting their joined hands against the mattress.

He pushed the rest of the way in and started slowly thrusting in and out.

Harry shut his eyes and let his head fall back to the pillow.

Louis ducked his head and licked one of Harry’s nipples, just like last night. Unlike then, he didn’t use any teeth.

Harry wrapped his legs around Louis’ waist, having nothing else to hold onto but Louis. He had Louis’ hands in his, Louis’ mouth on his chest and Louis’ cock between his legs. He was convinced there was no better way to wake up in the morning.

Louis wanted to keep it slow this time, so he kept his pace unhurried. He moved in and out easily, wanting to make this last.

He kissed Harry again, who returned it eagerly.

Louis could hear cars outside, and people walking around, just starting their day. And he got to be inside, fucking arguably the most gorgeous man on the planet.

Harry let out a low groan as Louis hit his prostate, and he rolled his hips up, meeting Louis mid-thrust.

The two of them got into an easy rhythm soon after, pulling back at the same time and pushing forward in unison.

“God, Harry,” Louis moaned, jabbing at Harry’s prostate with every move he made.

“Lou, please.”

Louis swivelled his hips a few times before returning to fuck into Harry, a little quicker this time.

Harry’s back slightly arched up off the bed, and his legs tightened around Louis’ waist.

Louis sped up even more, feeling his own orgasm coming on. He kissed Harry again before releasing Harry’s hand and wrapping his around Harry’s cock.

He jerked Harry off in time to their thrusts, feeling his shoulder start to strain from keeping his upper body up on just one arm.

Harry wove the fingers of his free hand into Louis’ hair and massaged his scalp before grabbing onto his hair.

Louis groaned and slammed into Harry a few times before returning to his quick pace.

“Louis, I’m so close,” Harry whispered, his grip tightening on Louis’ hair. “Oh, my God.”

Louis kept moving, and a few minutes later, Harry was coming all over his hand.

Harry sighed, letting Louis continue chasing his orgasm.

“Shit,” Louis muttered. He sat up, leaning back on his shins, and drove his cock in and out. “I’m gonna come.”

“Come on me.”

“What?”

“You heard me. Come on my chest. Come on.”

Louis nodded, and pulled out quickly. He peeled the condom off and wrapped his hand around his cock. He started to jerk himself off, and before he knew it, he was spurting over Harry’s chest and abs, his come mixing up with Harry’s.

Louis nearly collapsed, catching himself by throwing one hand down to the mattress.

He worked his way through his orgasm, and when he finished, he flopped down to the mattress next to Harry.

Harry giggled to himself.

“What’s so funny?” Louis wanted to know.

“We’re just so damn good together.”

Louis scoffed. “I think you mean fucking fantastic. You were amazing last night.”

“Thanks. You were pretty incredible, too.”

“Thank you, love.”

They lay there quietly, until Harry finally admitted, “I’m kinda hungry.”

“Oh, thank God!” Louis enthused. “You read my mind. I’m starving. Let’s go eat.”

“We’re kind of gross, though.”

“Do you want to shower before we go?”

“Not really… We can go eat and come back and shower.”

“Together?”

Harry nodded, a grin forming on his face.

“Sounds like a plan.”

The two of them got up. Harry went into the bathroom to clean himself up while Louis went out to the living room to find his jeans and shoes from the night before.

Once Harry felt less sticky, he went back to his room to get dressed. He went to check on Louis when he was done.

“You find everything?” Harry asked Louis.

“Yeah, I think so. You mind if I borrow something warmer, though?” Louis wondered.

“Sure. You can take whatever you want.”

The two of them went back into Harry’s room. Harry sat on his bed, watching Louis rifle through his dresser.

“So your word is ‘jumper,’ huh?” Harry asked casually.

Louis glanced over at Harry with a smile on his face, but didn’t otherwise acknowledge it.

“Yeah, I peeked at your chest when you were sleeping.”

“I guess that’s all right. I mean, two orgasms each; I think that gives you a right to look at my chest.”

Harry laughed.

“It’s OK; I looked at your word last night after you fell asleep. ‘Coffee’? Really?”

Harry shrugged. “It’s not like I picked it.”

“Is that why you drink so much of it? Because it’s connected to your soul mate?”

“Maybe. I mean, my 7 a.m. schedule has a little to do with that, too, but… Yeah. Pretty much.”

Louis nodded, but didn’t say anything else.

He turned back to the dressers.

“So, you really don’t believe in the whole soul mate thing?” Harry wondered.

“I don’t know, just…” Louis debated how to best answer the question. “I’ve tried it. I really have. I’ve gone after guys who I thought were linked to my word, and nothing happened with them. I realised that I was trying to force it, to make the relationship happen, and that’s not how it all works.”

Harry blushed, thinking back to his date last night with Kyle. He wondered how things had gone with that blonde after Louis and Harry had left the club.

“Besides, I’ve been in love before,” Louis admitted. “But I got so wound up thinking about how it all connected to my stupid word that I actually ruined the relationship. I lost the men I was in love with – at different times, may I add – all because of a stupid word on my chest. I’m almost 28, Harry. And, I don’t know, I think it’s time to just forget about the whole soul mate thing. I can’t wait around forever, waiting for someone to come along who connects to the word ‘jumper’ when there are so many amazing people out there who might not. And let’s not dwell on the fact that my word is ‘jumper.’ It’s honestly the worst one out there, because, well, doesn't everyone own a jumper?"

Harry nodded. Louis’ feelings on the subject were reasonable, and also a little jaded.

“Can I borrow this?” Louis asked, holding up one of Harry’s jumpers that had always been a little too small for him.

“Yeah, that’s fine. Let’s go; I’m starving.”

“Let me guess, you’re gonna get a cup of coffee at breakfast?”

“Duh. Do you want a prize for guessing the obvious?”

“You paying for breakfast is sufficient enough.”

“Now you’re pushing it.”

\---

The next morning, Harry went into work as usual. He met Zayn outside the store, and the two of them went inside to clock in and go over the day’s tasks.

First up was unpacking a new shipment of jumpers and getting them on the mannequins in the store.

As Harry opened a box, something struck him as odd.

“These look like they run small,” he called out to Zayn.

“What?”

Zayn walked back into the storeroom, returning from a quick bathroom break.

“Hold this up to you?”

He gave Zayn a sweater in a medium to hold up to his chest.

“Yeah, look at these seams,” Harry critiqued. He picked up his coffee cup from the floor where he’d left it and took a sip. “This can’t be a men’s jumper. It’s too form-fitting.”

“Is that the new style, though?”

Harry shrugged. “Could be. I wonder what it’s made of. Let me see the tag.”

He took a step forward, reaching out to take the sweater from Zayn.

However, he forgot about the box that he’d placed on the floor, and his foot caught on it as he walked.

Harry crashed into Zayn, spilling his coffee all over him and the sweater he was holding.

“No,” he gasped. Luckily for Zayn, the sweater had caught most of the coffee, and he would only have to change his shirt, instead of his whole outfit.

Unluckily for Harry, he would have to damage out the sweater that he’d just ruined.

“Fuck. I can’t believe I did that.”

“I’ll grab the mop,” Zayn announced as he turned and walked out. “And a new shirt. I have one in my locker.”

Harry rolled his eyes at himself. He never spilled his coffee like that. The last time it had happened had been the first day he met Louis, when he spilled his coffee all over his-

Harry gasped again, but this time was in realisation. He spilled his coffee all over Louis’ jumper.

It was an accident, but it still happened.

He spilled his  _coffee_ on Louis’  _jumper._

Coffee. Jumper. Their words matched up with how they met. Louis had even complained about how his favourite jumper was messed up. And the only reason Harry had even been at the coffee shop at that time was because he spilled his other cup of coffee.

That was how they met. And those were their words.

“Holy shit!” Harry yelled.

“What?” Zayn rushed back into the room, a frantic look in his eyes. He held a mop in one hand and his shirt was half-unbuttoned.

“Louis is my soul mate,” Harry told him. “Well, I think he is, anyway.”

Harry quickly told Zayn about their words, and what he had just figured out, reminding him of the story of how they met.

“It all fits, Zayn!”

“Oh. Is that it?” Zayn wondered. 

“What do you mean, ‘is that it?’ I just figured out who my soul mate is, and you say, ‘is that it?’”

“Thought that was pretty obvious, mate. I mean, it’s convenient as hell, too. You guys clearly like each other. I mean,  _clearly._ ”

Zayn poked at a love bite peeking out from beneath Harry’s collar.

“Ow.” Harry moved back from Zayn, just a step. “Well sorry I was a little slow on the uptake. You could’ve told me, you know.”

“Why? If it was meant to be, you would’ve figured it out eventually.”

“Yeah, I figured it out, but now I have to tell Louis.”

“OK…?”

“He doesn’t believe in the whole ‘soul mates’ thing,” Harry reminded him. 

“But he likes you. I’m pretty sure all you would have to say to him is that you like him, and he’ll agree. Don’t make this complicated, Harry. And you know what? Even if, for some weird reason, it turns out that you’re not soul mates, you’re great together. Maybe this will be one of those cases when you actually can make each other soul mates.”

“You really think so?”

“Of course I do. That’s why I said it.”

“Zayn…”

“Harry… Don’t overthink this. You like Louis. He likes you. Your words match up, and it all makes sense. Just go with it.”

“OK… OK, I’m gonna go for it.”

“Good job,” Zayn praised.

“After I talk to Lottie.”

“Why?”

“Just to make sure it’s not gonna be awkward,” Harry explained. “I mean, it’s her brother.”

“Lottie wants you both to be happy; she won’t have a problem with it.”

“No, no, no; I’m not taking that risk. I mean, I love you and all, but if you started dating my sister, I would have a problem with it if you didn’t talk to me about it first.”

“Fair point.”

“Yeah. So I’ll talk to Lottie first.”

“By the way, is Gemma single?” Zayn asked curiously.

Harry shot him with a dangerous glare.

Zayn held his hands up in surrender. “Kidding. Just kidding.”

\---

Lottie showed up at 8:30, as scheduled. As usual, she came in, turned on the registers and clocked in.

Then she did something more than unusual.

“Harry, come here,” she called over her shoulder.

He came out of the back room to see what she needed.

“I need to test shades on you before I give you anything, OK?”

Harry looked in front of Lottie to see that she had makeup with her.

“What’s that for?” he asked.

Lottie looked at him confusedly. “What do you mean? Zayn said you needed makeup to cover up some love bites.”

Harry’s eyes widened and he turned to look toward the back of the store, where Zayn was peeking out from behind a rack of jumpers.

“Wow, he got you good, didn’t he?” Lottie commented, tilting Harry’s chin up so she could see all of the marks.

“Um, yeah, I guess.”

“So who was it?” Lottie started uncapping some of the makeup bottles she thought might work for Harry’s skin tone.

“Who?”

“The guy. I know it wasn’t Kyle. You never did call me yesterday to tell me what happened, by the way. This must’ve been after I left, because the only one I saw you with was Louis.”

Harry started coughing at that point, which soon turned into a hack. Zayn laughed the whole time.

Lottie looked between the both of them. “What?”

She started smearing a cream over Harry’s neck, rubbing it over all of the marks that were clearly visible.

Then she pulled out something that looked like green lipstick and, as gently as she could, spread it over his skin.

“You gonna tell me what the problem is?”

“Nope,” Harry answered.

“Uh-huh. What? Was he ugly?”

Zayn chuckled.

“No, he definitely wasn’t ugly,” Harry replied.

“So what’s the problem? Why can’t I know who it was?”

Lottie put some concealer on Harry’s hand. She examined it and shook her head before grabbing a different shade.

“Harry, tell her who it was,” Zayn encouraged evilly.

“Shut up, Zayn!”

“Tell her!”

“Who was it?”

“It was Louis,” Harry answered quickly. “OK? It was your brother.”

Lottie stared at Harry for a solid minute before she reacted.

“Eww!” she shrieked. She dropped the concealer she held in her hand down onto the counter. “Eww! I’m covering up my brother’s love bites?”

She started gagging and put her hands on her chest. “That’s disgusting!”

“Hey, you wanted to know about it,” Harry said defensively.

“I didn’t know it was my brother! You made me bring you make-up to cover up his-“ she gagged again. “I can’t repeat that. This is gross.”

“Well, Zayn told you to bring the make-up!”

Zayn was too busy laughing to defend himself.

“You hooked up with my brother!” Lottie whined, swatting at Harry’s arm.

“I’m sorry?”

“I’m gonna be unhappy for the rest of the day, I just know it…”

“Is it really that bad of an idea?” Harry wondered.

“Yes!”

“Well, what if I told you I wanted to maybe make things serious with him?” Harry asked quietly.

“Are you kidding me?”

“No?”

“Well goddammit, Harry!” Lottie stomped her foot as she yelled at him.

“Lottie, I’m sorry you feel that way, but-“

“No, it’s not that, you donut. Now I owe Em twenty quid.”

Harry paused. “What?”

“Yeah, she said you would fall for Louis before Christmas. I thought it would happen after New Year’s. Damn it! You couldn't wait another month?”

“Wait, you knew, too? Was it really obvious to everyone?”

“Yeah,” Lottie and Zayn said in unison.

“Well, damn…”

“OK, no,” Lottie started, “it wasn’t obvious. It was more like, an overwhelming hunch.”

Harry furrowed his brow. “So, obvious?”

“Basically. Listen, Harry, I guess I can tell you this now, but Louis’ sort of always had a thing for you.”

“What?”

“What?” Zayn asked.

“Yeah. It was like, right after you left that night the three of us had dinner together. He asked if you were single, and mentioned the colour of your eyes. For Louis, that means he’s interested.”

Harry felt his heart slow. If Louis liked him before, then that meant that when Louis propositioned him in the club, he wasn’t just doing it for Harry. It must’ve meant something for him, too.

“I have to talk to Louis,” Harry muttered.

“I think he’s working today, but maybe tonight.”

“Good. Yeah, that’ll work. I can’t wait on this any longer.”

“What are you gonna say?” Zayn wondered.

“No idea, yet. But, this day is gonna drag by now. I know it.”

\---

When Harry clocked out that day, he went home and took a shower. He put on an old jumper and dark jeans.

It was almost six when he finally texted Louis asking what he was doing.

**_Louis: working at the studio. gonna be here for a while more. you_ **

**_Harry: Thinking about you .xx_ **

**_Louis: really?_ **

**_Harry: Yeah. Can I see you tonight? I want to ask you something._ **

**_Louis: uh oh. that’s not exactly comforting_ **

**_Harry: I promise it’s good. But I don’t want to bug you if you’re at work._ **

**_Louis: don’t be ridiculous. you can come by any time you want to_ **

Harry smiled to himself when Louis gave him the address. He glanced in the mirror to make sure he looked ok.

**_Louis: when you get here, just talk to the security guard at the front desk. i’ll tell him i’m expecting you._ **

**_Harry: OK. I’m leaving now._ **

**_Louis: ok. see you soon xx_ **

\---

Harry walked into Louis’ building and, as instructed, talked to the guard on duty.

He had to sign in and let the guard copy his driver’s license before he was shown the lift.

He took it up to the twelfth floor, and when the doors opened, he found himself in a large, open office.

He heard music playing and followed it toward the back.

Harry pushed open a door to find Louis in a studio. He was sitting at a sound control panel, adding effects to the song playing over the speakers.

Harry leaned in the doorframe, watching Louis work.

The song sounded good to Harry, but judging by the slight frown on Louis’ face, Louis didn’t agree.

After a few minutes, Louis looked up and saw Harry standing there.

He smiled softly and paused the song. “Hey. Come on in.”

Harry walked in, shutting the door behind him. He leaned against the panel, feeling Louis’ eyes track his every move.

“I have to admit, you had me kind of nervous with that text,” Louis said.

“I know. I’m sorry for that. I promise it’s nothing bad.”

Louis nodded, waiting for Harry to explain what was going on.

“So, I’ve been thinking about soul mates,” Harry started. “And, I know you don’t have nearly as much faith in it as I do, but… Um…”

Louis leaned forward a little bit, listening to Harry speak.

“I think I found my soul mate,” Harry confessed quickly.

“Oh.”

Louis sat still, his eyebrows raised and lips parted as if he wanted to say something else. Instead, he just closed his mouth and looked down to his lap.

“Um…” He cleared his throat. “That’s great. Congratulations… Why do you look so glum about it, though?”

“Because I’m not sure how to tell him.”

“Why?”

Instead of answering, Harry cleared his throat and looked down at his feet, shuffling his weight from one foot to the other.

“Harry?”

“What would it take to get you to believe in the whole ‘soul mates’ thing?” Harry asked.

“What?”

“Just… answer the question? Like, what would make you take it seriously?”

Louis sat back in his chair and sighed. “Um… I guess, consistency? Like, I would need the word to make sense with the guy in question. I would need our words to have a logical link, and for us to have a real connection, too. I mean, with you and Kyle, your words made sense together, but there was no spark. With me and other guys in the past, there have been sparks, and passion, but the words didn’t add up. I would need both of those things, plus I would need to be able to imagine seeing myself with that person forever. It’s no good if the words make sense, and the spark is there, but there’s no longevity. Does that… I don’t know. Is that OK?”

Harry nodded.

“Why do you ask?”

Harry looked down at his fingers, which he had been twisting together while Louis had been talking.

“Harry?”

Wordlessly, Harry walked over to Louis. Bracing himself on the back of the chair, he placed his knees on either side of Louis’ legs, and sank down so he was straddling Louis’ lap.

“Harry?”

“What about me?” Harry asked.

“What about you?”

“Yeah. There’s definitely a spark between us, right?”

Louis smiled. “Undeniably.”

Harry pressed a soft kiss to Louis’ lips, so quick that Louis didn’t even have a chance to properly kiss him back.

“Do you want kids one day?” Harry wondered.

“Well, I’m the oldest of seven,” Louis explained. “I think I’d be disowned if I didn’t have at least a few.”

Louis and Harry laughed quietly together.

“Do you think I’d be a good dad?” Harry asked.

Louis moved his hands to the sides of Harry’s thighs and started rubbing small, comforting circles into them.

“I think you’d be an  _amazing_ father. Anybody would be lucky to raise kids with you.”

“That could be you, you know,” Harry blurted out.

Louis jolted slightly. “Harry, do you think we’re-”

“I guess that just brings us to our words,” Harry continued. “‘Coffee’ and ‘jumper.’”

“Two extremely common words; yeah.”

“You don’t see the connection there?”

Louis shook his head. “No. What, you and I could drink coffee and wear jumpers together?”

“Well, sure, we could. But don’t you remember how we met?”

“Sure, I do. You spilled your coffee on me. Are you saying we’re soul mates because I happened to be wearing a jumper that day?”

“No, but you did complain about it being your favourite jumper. And I buy coffee from that place all the time, but not once have I ever gone in there at 11:30 on a weekday. What are the chances that I spilled my coffee that day and went to the shop the same day that you went there because you were getting over a hangover?”

“Harry…”

“Louis, don’t shoot down the idea yet,” Harry pleaded. “Please? Just, think about it. I know you don’t really like the concept of soul mates, but I do, and I’ve never been so serious about a potential soul mate as I am about this. We’re each other’s soul mate. We’re supposed to be together. And I know that it’s scary, and I’m throwing this all at you right now, but please just consider it?”

Harry searched Louis’ face for an answer, for something telling him what Louis was thinking at that moment.

Louis looked conflicted, that much was clear. But Harry didn’t know what he was supposed to say next.

He shifted to stand up, starting to feel awkward sitting in Louis’ lap after not getting the reaction he was hoping for.

But Louis shot his hands back and around Harry’s hips, holding him still.

“I don’t want you to be disappointed,” Louis said.

“Why would I be disappointed?”

“Because I might not turn out to be your soul mate? I mean, I try not to read into all of that, and I know you do. I don’t want you to get attached to me being your person only for you to find out I’m not. I couldn’t live with myself if I let you down like that, if it turned out that I wasn’t good enough for you. Or worse: I couldn’t bear it if you turned out not to be  _my_ soul mate. The other night was… perfect, Harry. It was fantastic and amazing and incredible, just like you. If I found out that you were meant for someone else, and I had to give you up for you to be truly happy with that other guy, well… it would kill me, Harry. I like you so much, and it probably won’t be long until I say “I love you” without risking the chance of freaking you out and scaring you off. And I’ve never felt that way about someone before.”

Harry grinned. “Exactly!”

“Exactly what?”

“You’ve never felt that strongly about someone before. I’ve never been so serious about anybody but you. Our words match up, we have unbelievable chemistry – you and I both think so – and I can see a future with you just as easily as you can with me. Everything you want, I’m here to give you. And everything you’re feeling, I’m feeling, too. Words don’t lie, Louis. You’re mine and I’m yours.”

A smile slowly spread across Louis’ face. “That sounds perfect to me.”

“Really?” Harry beamed excitedly.

“Really. But we have to do this right.”

“What do you mean?”

“Are you busy on Friday night?”

\---

The rest of the week passed by slowly, as Harry anticipated his ‘first date’ with Louis.

It had been Louis’ idea: for them to go out on Friday night as if they hadn’t already figured out that they were destined to end up together.

Harry had been totally up for the idea when Louis first suggested it, but after the past few days to think about it, the nerves were getting to him.

He told Sophia all about it while she helped him get ready.

“What if I misread all the signs?” Harry asked worriedly. “I mean, ‘coffee’ and ‘jumper’ are  _such_  common words. Like, they could literally mean anything.”

“Harry, you’re worrying again.” Sophia smiled as she fixed a stray hair. “You and Louis are going to have fun tonight, and you  _will_ be together.”

“Whether you want to or not,” Liam joked.

“Shut up, Liam,” Sophia and Harry said at the same time.

Liam shrugged and looked over Harry’s outfit one more time. “You look great, by the way.”

Harry thanked him and looked in the mirror again. His hair was down, the brown curls falling past his shoulders.  He was wearing black, skinny [jeans](http://lp2.hm.com/hmprod?set=source%5B/environment/2015/6AY_0014_006R.jpg%5D,width%5B3646%5D,height%5B4263%5D,x%5B820%5D,y%5B856%5D,type%5BFASHION_FRONT%5D&hmver=1&call=url%5Bfile:/product/main%5D), a black, patterned, cotton [shirt](http://lp2.hm.com/hmprod?set=source%5B/model/2015/B00%200317949%20005%2083%202482.jpg%5D,width%5B962%5D,height%5B1125%5D,x%5B822%5D,y%5B107%5D,type%5BDETAIL%5D&hmver=4&call=url%5Bfile:/product/main%5D) and black, leather [monkstraps](http://lp2.hm.com/hmprod?set=source%5B/model/2015/B00%200305812%20001%2050%200173.jpg%5D,type%5BSTILLLIFE_FRONT%5D&hmver=2&call=url%5Bfile:/product/main%5D). Of course, everything came from H&M.

“I need to start shopping at other places,” Harry realised.

Liam and Sophia nodded sympathetically.

He heard a knock at the door and Liam got up to answer it.

“You’ll be fine,” Sophia reassured.

“Hey, man. Come on in,” they heard Liam saying.

Harry looked up to see Louis coming inside, and Liam shutting the door.

“That’s my girlfriend, Sophia,” Liam said, pointing over to her.

“Oh, from the coffee shop, right? Yeah, we’ve met.”

Louis shook her hand, smiling at her the whole time.

“Nice to see you again, Louis.”

“You, too.”

Then he turned toward Harry, who instantly got butterflies in his stomach.

When his eyes met Louis’, he felt all senses of tension fall away from his body.

He got the feelings of safety and security, of friendship and loyalty, of love and passion, all at the same time.

And suddenly, he wasn’t nervous anymore.

“Hey, love,” Louis greeted. He walked over to Harry and gave him a big hug. Before he stepped back, he kissed him gently.

“You ready?” Louis whispered when he pulled back.

Harry nodded, and looked down to see what Louis was wearing.

He grinned when he realised that he knew every part of his outfit.

“Yeah, Lottie dressed me tonight,” Louis admitted.

“I can tell.”

He had his coat unbuttoned, so Harry could see that Louis had on a black, button-down stretch [shirt](http://lp2.hm.com/hmprod?set=source%5B/model/2015/C00%200341894%20002%2097%201024.jpg%5D,type%5BSTILLLIFE_FRONT%5D&hmver=4&call=url%5Bfile:/product/main%5D) paired with dark blue skinny [jeans](http://lp2.hm.com/hmprod?set=source%5B/environment/2015/5HT_0004_003R.jpg%5D,width%5B3790%5D,height%5B4432%5D,x%5B728%5D,y%5B639%5D,type%5BFASHION_FRONT%5D&hmver=0&call=url%5Bfile:/product/main%5D) and black [Brogues](http://lp2.hm.com/hmprod?set=source%5B/model/2015/B00%200306193%20001%2070%201836.jpg%5D,type%5BSTILLLIFE_FRONT%5D&hmver=5&call=url%5Bfile:/product/main%5D).

“I like it, though,” Harry added.

“Thank you.”

The two of them glanced over at Liam and Sophia, who unfailingly looked like proud parents watching their son get ready for prom.

Sophia had her hands in a prayer position, pressed up against the lower half of her smiling face. Liam had his arm around her shoulders and was watching them fondly.

“OK, guys,” Harry started, “we’re leaving.”

“Let me know if you need us to go to Soph’s for the night,” Liam said with a wink.

“Jesus,” Louis muttered. He took Harry’s hand in his own and started pulling him out of the flat.

“Have fun,” Sophia told them.

“We will!” Harry promised as he grabbed his coat and keys from the table by the door.

The two of them walked out, and Harry pulled the door shut behind them.

“I like them,” Louis commented while Harry put his coat on.

“They’re OK.”

“They’re just looking out for you. And that’s sweet.”

“Yeah, it is. They’re definitely keepers.”

Once Harry was situated, Louis took his hand again. He raised their linked hands up to his lips and kissed the back of Harry’s.

“Shall we?”

“Absolutely.”

Harry smiled to himself as they walked out, knowing that this would be his last, first date.

**Author's Note:**

> Leave me Kudos and Comments if you enjoyed the story!
> 
> Hit me up on [twitter](http://twitter.com/angelique_lee) or [tumblr](http://www.flamboyantommo.tumblr.com/) if you feel like it! If you follow me on either, let me know who you are so I definitely follow you back!


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